Homosexuality in the military

Don’t ask and I can’t tell
Debate about the current military policy regarding homosexual service has moved into the forefront of American culture through both the legislative and judicial aspects of life. As many of you know the Senate recently failed to pass a bill which would repeal the current policy stating that homosexual members are permitted to serve in the military provided that they do not make their homosexuality known. The courts have recently levied two decisions in favor of homosexual members, which could set a legal precedent that allows for this policy to be overturned regardless of what the elected officials in Washington decide. Allow me to first say that I believe the current policy is discriminatory in its nature, and that the individual lifestyle choices of Americans should be protected by the constitution of this great nation. Given the previous statement it is fair to say that the current policy is flawed, but can the United States military allow for members to serve if they are openly homosexual?
I am a United States Marine, who proudly served this country and the Marine Corps for four years. Did I encounter homosexual individuals during my service? The answer is undoubtedly yes. One morning during my years living in a barracks at MCAS Miramar I violated an order and had a guest stay overnight in my barracks room. The following morning as I was escorting the young woman out of my room another Marine had also violated that order and had a guest leaving her room at the same time. Both guests were female, and while the female Marine was concerned that I might say something regarding her homosexuality I assured her that we both violated the same order and that I was unconcerned about her homosexuality. A few years later another Marine admitted to me, after I was honorably discharged, that he was homosexual. I had worked closely with the second Marine, shared a locker room with him, and therefore I’m rather certain that we had showered following physical training at the same time. Looking back on this I’m still not concerned that he was homosexual. My lack of concern aside there will be some individuals who will not be comfortable showering with a homosexual; however this should not be the primary issue.
In the Marine Corps a policy exists that family members are not permitted to serve in the same unit. The reason for this policy is due to morale associated with combat. As a Marine I would feel less comfortable going into war where the men to my left and right are brothers. If such a situation were to occur than I would feel that the brothers would be more concerned with the safety of each other rather the safety of every other member of the unit. Feelings of this nature cause units to be less effective and put everyone in the unit at a greater risk because less trust exists between the members of the unit. The same policy exists regarding spouses in the Marine Corps. It is frequent to see dating within the work place, and an administrative official in the Marine Corps is no different. However when two Marines are married as a result of their relationship one is transferred to another unit in order to ensure that unit integrity remains intact.
If homosexuals are allowed to serve openly in the military, and I’m rather certain that a significant percentage of the military is homosexual, than situations in combat can arise where two members of a combat unit may have more loyalty to each other than to the rest of the unit. Another difficultly is that if two members of a unit are in a relationship and one individual within the relationship feels that the other is cheating within the same unit than the possibility arises that the jaded lover may place other members of the unit at undue risk due to his suspicions of infidelity. This becomes extremely dangerous when fighting a war where combatants are difficult to identify and bombs can look like a teddy bear. If the military permit homosexuals to serve openly, than as a result the military would be forced to transfer individuals in a relationship; specifically when those individuals are members of a combat unit. This would put an unnecessary strain on the military as individuals would be moved far too frequently. This is not as large an issue when dealing with noncombat units. Could we allow homosexuals to serve in a manner similar to women, where they are not permitted to be in combat units?
The policy regarding homosexual military service is flawed, but is there a better alternative? Should congress be capable of creating a solution than more power to them, but we must remember that we are talking about a service which is completely voluntary. Due to the voluntary nature of the United States military can an individual force a change when they are not forced into service in the first place. And as for the legal suits being filed on behalf of the individuals who are honorably discharged from the military due to their homosexuality it is important to remember that they also volunteered. Not only did they volunteer, but they also signed a contract in which the policies governing the United States military are outlined. The individuals signed a contract, which they violated by not hiding their homosexuality, and as a result the government should be legally allowed to void such a contract when the individual service member did not fulfill the requirements of the contract.

The Truth According to Reverend Daniel

Truth is defined as the quality of state of being true. True is defined as in accordance with fact or reality. There lies the subjective nature of truth and what is true. My reality differs from yours. In my reality I am an honest person capable of integrity. Integrity was once defined to me as "doing what is right when no one is looking." It will be this blog in some ways that provides evidence of my integrity. You cannot see, and in fact you have no real idea about my age, my gender, my race, or any other attribute that so many of us are defined by. I could easily lie in order to be more persuasive or in order to make myself look better in your eyes. But I believe that ultimately I will look best by continuing to be honest. There are things that I have done in my life that can paint me as a monster, but each of us has been a monster at some point in their life.

What place does truth have in our society? When a woman asks if these jeans make her butt look big, and a man lies in order to provide the answer that the woman wanted than where does the truth lie? Each of us has told a "white lie" which calls into question the capability of any individual to be truthful at all times. Even if we look only at our life after the point of moral development we have all lied, and even worse we have probably all lied to ourselves. Lying about taking a cookie from the cookie jar before dinner as a five year is not what I'm talking about. I have lied to myself in the most heinous of ways. I've been lying in bed telling myself that I loved the individual sharing that bed when honesty is pulling at my heart and contradicting everything I've been saying. Where was truth that night at 3a.m.? I had certainly loved her, and if I had once loved her then how hideous is my deceit?

How does lying to myself differ from lying to another person? If I had only met this girl a few weeks before, and told her I loved her in order to get her in my bed than I would argue that to be a much worse offense than lying after she has spent every night in our bed for the last two years. I realize that by being dishonest with myself I am also being dishonest with her, and therefore I am compounding my mistakes. But should I really tell her the first time I think that this may not work out? If so I would never have made it past two months with any person I've dated in my entire life. There are always doubts in everything we do, especially those events that always and forever change the course of our lives.

Most people I know in the world have complained about an x who lied repeatedly. We have all seen countless politicians who make the promises we all want to hear, only to realize later that they were telling us these things in order to get a job, not to actually help us. We have seen celebrities from OJ to Jim Bakker to the thousands of infidelities that occur every years, in and out of the public eye. Is it because we have seen so many people lie over the course of our life time tha we no longer place a high value on truth? Baseball players are swearing before congress to tell the truth, and yet we are to believe that Barry Bonds never took steriods or HGH? Sosa and Palmeiro both claimed never to have touched the stuff, only to fail a drug test later. And now these politicians want to charge these men with perjury while they have become rich from lying to the American people for decades.

I have always believed that the only thing no one can ever take me from is my word. My word is my bond, and therefore I chose my words intintially and intend to keep my promises every time I make one. Truth is important to me, will continue to be important to me for as many days as I have left on this Earth. My truth is subjective, and while I admit that truth is subjective and therefore at times unverifiable, I promise that the truth expressed according to Reverend Daniel will take my life and display the result of it for you in order that you may think about he choices you have made and the value that you hold close to your heart. No one can ever force you to give up your integrity, but many of us at times have handed it way for nothing more than a warm body next to them or a couple of bucks in their pocket. Having given away your truth for so little a price we have all lessened the value of truth and made it possible to trade truth for even less value objects.


But it is important to remember that one act does not define you as an individual, and that your self definition can change every day in order to become the man or woman you chose.


"You can bend it and twist it...You can misuse and abuse it...But even God cannot change the Truth" - Michael Levy