Jeremiah's First DADT "Thoughts"

Well, it's not the endless sermon we're used to from Jeremiah, though I'm sure that's waiting in the wings. No, instead, today Jer borrows a page from the GOP to ask his handful of readers their thoughts on DADT. * sigh * So few sentences, yet so much that is simply wrong. Read on.

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Should The "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" Policy of Our United States Military Be Overturned, Or Left Alone?

Going to have a little question, answer session here, today...

Okay, my answer is, it should be left alone. Either that, or overturn the law, and disallow homosexuals from serving in the military at all.

Why?

Quite simply, to maintain the integrity of our men and women in uniform, because that's what our Military is all about, and in order to maintain their integrity, they need to be held accountable to a high standard. Perversion is about as low as you can go, and therefore, should not be specially protected.

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No surprises here. We all knew this was the angle Jer was going to take, though he does it with a smugness that is jarring; particularly if, like me, you also are getting a little tired of the teabagger crowd constantly equating military service with something approaching Impending Sainthood on the societal values scale. You'd think it was the only occupation of any redeeming value in the world.

But my reaction to this can be summed up pretty completely in a single question.

Where would you stop, Jeremiah?

At what point would institutionalized discrimination against (or in favor of) any given group of people become just Too Much for your tender tummy to stomach?

We know that he doesn't care for openly gay service members. What about women? Jer would probably argue that their mere presence in the military is a temptation to sin, so they had better be kept out. If the boys want someone to fondle, there's always the womenfolk of whatever country we happen to be invading. I mean, they're foreigners. They don't count.

And, you know, while he's at it, Jeremiah might condone a religious litmus test, to make sure no scary Jews or Muslims or Pagans or any other faith of which he disapproves are allowed to serve. Forget all that flowery Constitutional language to the contrary. No, sirree - we had better act fast to make sure that all that bloodshed happens only in Jesus' name.

And then there's the government that sends those troops off to war. Shouldn't they be held to a high standard and be all about the Integrity? Presto! Jer has a rationalization for all government offices being staffed only by straight men. (We haven't gotten into the racial stuff, yet, but I somehow suspect that in Jeremiah World, "men" translates to "white, conservative men." I could be wrong, but I doubt that I am.)

And if government is a white-straight-Christian-boys-only club, well, then, who ever thought it was a good idea for non-Caucasians, women, those of diverse faiths, and gays to be allowed to VOTE? There's your problem right there. Take anybody who doesn't toe Jer's line right off the voter rolls. The dilemma is solved! Arguably, forever, since only clones of Jeremiah...well, and corporations, according to the Supreme Court...will be considered citizens. World without end, amen.

See, Jeremiah, here's the thing. What you like to call a group's "special protection," most of the rest of us call "equal rights and nondiscrimination." If the USA is "the greatest country on Earth," as I daresay is your claim...then how is that greatness enhanced by endorsing any level of discriminatory practice, in any sphere of society; much less in service to the nation?

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal." "Men," of course, to be construed in the sense of "all mankind."

Admit it, hypocrite Jer. You love to wave the flag, but don't give a rip for the real values it represents. In your universe, "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness" are the purview only of a select few. THAT point of view is what is "about as low as you can go," and it most definitely "should not be specially protected."