It has taken America a long time. We’re not a completely colorblind nation that has fixed the preponderance of its social problems. We’ve made plenty of strides to fulfill the Declaration of Independence’s ‘all men are created equal’ promise. 

We are a nation that has implemented countless policies to enable blacks, Latinos, women, the disabled and several other minorities’ equal opportunities to contribute positively to American society.

However, there is still one debate going on right now that is denying the rights of gay Americans, and that is the ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ policy. President Obama is working to abolish the policy while Army Secretary John McHugh, as well as Army Chief of Staff Gen. George Casey, have testified against it.

The fact that we have established a policy to deny any able-bodied human being who wants to protect this country is absolutely ludicrous.

When President Truman implemented an executive order in 1948 to desegregate the military, he knew it would be unpopular. However, Truman recognized the need for this step toward equality because he understood the value of patriotism and recognized that patriotism has no face and no skin color. Patriotism shouldn’t discriminate, it should empower.

The executive order says, ‘It is essential that there be maintained in the armed services of the U.S. the highest standards of democracy, with equality of treatment and opportunity for all those who serve in our country’s defense.’ 

The theory behind Truman’s executive order does not reign completely true today.  
While I understand that ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ was established as a protection of homosexuals who wish to serve in the military, this does not mean that there should be an outright ban on allowing them to serve in the military. Several experts, from sociologists to psychologists, have said that scientifically there is nothing wrong with having openly gay people serve in the military from any standpoint.  

The prejudices presented against the gay community in the U.S. through ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ seem to represent all too well how the U.S. hasn’t come around to the idea yet. It baffles me how we can live in a country where ‘all men are created equal’ but that isn’t represented in our ‘excessively liberal’ society today. That’s not to say that this should even be a partisan issue. No soldier in our great military is any more or less important than any other, and that should be reflected universally. Any person who wants to dedicate their life for American freedom, especially in the tumultuous world we live in today, should be allowed to do so.  

It’s also a shame that we force homosexuals already serving in the military to be scared to represent themselves honestly. They’re dedicating their lives to our ultimate cause, but we have created a culture where we cannot recognize their individuality. 

This country is great, and our military is a large reason why. It’s hard to forget sometimes that these heroes voluntarily put themselves on the front lines, but secretly we’re just trying to push them to the back.

David Kaplan is a sophomore broadcast journalism and political science major. His column appears weekly, and he can be reached at dhkaplan@syr.edu.

 

Published on March 9, 2010 at 12:00 pm