Years from now we may look back on Saturday's repeal of "don't ask, don't tell" and wonder why it was such as big deal in the first place. But today, as we analyze the impact of the 17 year struggle for recognition and acceptance forced upon gays and lesbians in our military, it is a big deal.
This would not have happened without the leadership of President Obama and it's a victory for all of us and a celebration of doing the right thing.
I was always taught to be honest and to live my life with integrity. And I have tried my best to live by those words each and every day, even though I too struggled at times with my own sexuality. But for thousands of men and women in our military, they have been forced to live a lie in a shame-based world.
Living and working under those circumstances is not good and it just isn't healthy.
In 1948 President Harry Truman used an Executive Order to integrate our armed forces and eliminate discrimination against African Americans in the military. And for the last 40 years women have had an increasingly accepted presence and active role in the military. Today, finally, we can add sexual orientation to the list of those who are accepted to serve and protect our nation.
The repeal of "don't ask, don't tell" didn't need to be a big deal. In fact it should have been a no-brainer. All we have to do is look around the world at our allies. Many nations allow gays and lesbians to serve openly in the military and they've been accepting them for years.
I am proud to be an American and I am honored to have the men and women who serve in our armed forces put their lives on the line to protect our nation. Their race, gender or sexual orientation does not matter to me. What matters most is their commitment to our country.
And that is a big deal.
Since this essentially changes nothing in the dynamic (gays could always join the military), this is only a "big deal" if you need to point to something (anything) that you can say you accomplished as the President.
Once you start treating whole categories of people different from other whole categories the end is inevitable, dehumanization of some by others with more power or more access.
in the 9th century BC the Oracle at Delphi gave Lycurgus advice on setting up Spartian Society, "There are two roads, most distant from each other: the one leading to the honorable house of freedom, the other the house of slavery, which mortals must shun. It is possible to travel the one through manliness and lovely accord; so lead your people to this path. The other they reach through hateful strife and cowardly destruction; so shun it most of all."
Those people in our society who fear and hate gays and lesbians for whatever reason cannot be allowed to to stem this most recent step toward a more civilized society. For where there is oppression,
Blatantly unconstitutional law.
Personally I think gays serving openly will be good for the military.