“Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” is, as Ashlie Bowman so intuitively pointed out to us, the most “proven and effective solution for the current situation.” I completely agree. In order for us to allow undedicated bigots to serve our country, we must force homosexuals back into their respective closets. If someone is going to not do their job because of their neighbor’s sexuality, why do we stop at the military? I feel that openly gay people should not be permitted to serve in our hospitals, our police offices, our fire departments, or our schools. After all, if we’re going to let gays be gay, then our straight doctors won’t care as much, our police officers may not take their duty seriously, and God knows that if the fire chief likes dudes, assuming he is male, then the entire station probably won’t care quite as much about fighting fires. Not calling Ashlie out, but if we are scared that our soldiers are not going to do their jobs efficiently if one of their company members just happens to have picture of his boyfriend hanging around his sleeping quarters, then we should seriously be questioning the motives and dedication of our soldiers.
If we are going to allow this regressive cock-and-bull excuse for effectiveness, let us not discriminate against homosexuals. If we aren’t going to allow openly gay people to serve in the military, we should not allow openly straight people to serve in the military either. If there is a closeted homosexual in your squad, then talking about your wife and running off at the mouth about conservative nonsense is going to cause him to be less willing to fight and die for you.
Without progress, things just stay the same. Allowing “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” to remain in effect will only allow people to continue to justify their bigotry and hate for the homosexual community. Gays are part of America. Just like Christians, heterosexuals, liberals, and conservatives have the right to serve openly in the military, so should homosexuals.
Michael Patrick is a sophomore majoring in political science.
