tell me, really.

I'm angry about the current debate over repealing Don't Ask Don't Tell. We are a country that claims to stand for civil rights of all; this shouldn't be an issue.  Yesterday, NPR played an interview with evangelical army chaplains who were worried that if DADT is repealed, they'll have to counsel all soldiers, even when they're committing the sin of homosexuality.   It not only made me mad and sad, it once again showed that the evangelical right doesn't count on logic and common sense to make their points. (npr article on chaplain and DADT)

The first error in their argument is that army chaplains only have to deal with soldiers who agree with their religion.  This is simply not true and, actually the military has several groups of individuals who evangelical chaplains would find sinful and offensive.  One example,  "Islam is the fastest growing major religion among American military personnel. According to the military, there are at least 4,100 Muslims serving in the U.S. Armed Forces; Muslim organizations estimate the number to be over 10,000. However, as of the spring of 2001, there were only ten Muslim chaplains in the entire military. "  (FAQ's about Muslins in military)  To say that chaplains might have to talk to homosexuals is just as likely as them talking to Muslims, as the number of Muslim chaplains outweighs the need. One Army chaplain who was interviewed in yesterday's story expressed concern that he might not be supported if he refused to counsel a homosexual. "And the response he received from this four-star general was, 'If you cannot accept the changes coming, you have an option: You can resign your commission."  

The second is that the military has been an institution of civil rights change before.  In fact, "the military succeeded with desegregation when a huge proportion of Americans remained hostile to the idea of blacks and whites sharing schools, lunch counters and water fountains — or barracks and foxholes."  (Nice article on desegregation of military)  Furthermore, the change began in 1948, just as American was getting drawn deeper into the Cold War and Czechoslovakia was "falling" to communism.  If that change had not been made, the US military would not have had black soldiers signing up, and for that matter, all Americans concerned with equal civil rights would have had a problem, especially given that African-Americans had fought honorably in World War II, as well as America's other wars for that matter.

Part of the problem is that Americans like to call "majority rules" and yet forgets that the majority isn’t always right. What makes our system great is that a majority of our leaders have been willing to stand up for the rights of the minority. Doing the right thing, the moral thing, to protect the rights of all Americans is a hard choice and often has hard consequences

The bottom line is that the American military is supposed to be the protector of this country's principals and values.  If we refuse to honor basic civil rights of all and discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation, than our armed forces are a symbol of hypocrisy.   This shouldn't be an issue.  It's not about whether or not you agree with homosexuality; it's about whether you agree that all people should be treated equally, despite religion, sexual orientation, or  ethnicity.