December 15, 2010

Campus Tyranny

After posting on DADT, I googled some of the latest on the discussion and found this. Mr. Nigrosh's article is full of the usual college freshman, leftish boilerplate and name calling, all designed to cut off debate. In a sophomoric touch, he generously allows that he has no problems with the Republican Party as vital to the two party system, but later says republicans are "confrontational, dismissive, arrogant and closed minded." Yet, he wants to encourage debate.

Well, he should talk to Kate. Here's her reply to my comment:  
Roger, personally, I think it’s insane that people have to even explain WHY repeal is needed….it’s discrimination, plain and simple.It IS a civil rights issue! By trying to make it into a security issue, opponents have merely been trying to pull the sheets over the public’s eyes while claiming not to be homophobic and discriminatory. Claiming that the armed forces operate with a “stricter moral plane” is 1) sad that you think a “stricter moral plane” = anti-gay positions and discrimination, and 2) I’d argue that the armed forces actually tend to be backwards and operate way behind the times. For example, women were not allowed into West Point for too long, and once they were, there were rapes, harassment, etc. Is that also part of the “stricter moral plane” you speak of?
You think it’s a security issue? Well, there was a study done of similar repeals in 5 of our allies (albeit some of them 20 yrs ago…we are so, embarrassingly, far behind) and they all found little or no impact to cohesion and security as a result of the repeals. In fact, they found it to be a benefit. By bringing things out into the open (it being ok to let others know you are gay) harassment actually decreased. See for yourself: (you have an article, interview, and a book to choose from) http://www.npr.org/2010/12/07/131857684/how-gay-soldiers-serve-openly-around-the-world
Lastly, I agree data can be pliable….but not when you have a 70%/30% split. If you have a 51%/49% split, ok, there is some fudge room. But with 70%?? Wake up.


You see, no reason to debate because you and your kind are bigots. And like many, Kate's knowledge of U.S. history is merely a catalog of grievances. When I wrote that the armed forces always operated on a stricter moral plane (one cannot operate "with" a "stricter moral plane"), I referred to the code of conduct and devotion to duty that allowed our troops to fight under impossible conditions. At Iwo Jima, 27 Marines and sailors were awarded Medals of Honor, 28 percent of those awarded during all of World War II. The sacrifice there was so great that Admiral Nimitz noted that, "Uncommon valor was a common virtue." Weigh our history of valor from Bunker Hill to Forward Operating Base Wanat, and only then, reflect on the actions of a few immature, officer wannabes.

Or consider this.  

But, after all, we are dealing with an armed forces that is "backwards and operate way behind the times." To those like Kate, people in the military might as well be like the ancients, who differ not just in manner, but in kind. Image if campus was like Major General Scales' office overlooking the A Shau Valley, and every time the faculty went into its bi-monthly meeting on curbing conservative speech, one third were killed or wounded.


During 23 years in the army, I rarely thought about gays in the military. On one occasion, two artillerymen in my battalion claimed to be gay to get out of deploying to Desert Storm. Other than that, it simply was not an issue.  


Combat soldiers, operating in close confines and with a complete lack of privacy, require special bonds of trust and discipline within their units. Many of our warriors still view homosexuality as a moral issue, and such feelings cannot be legislated away. As for the majority of the armed forces either favoring or having no issue with repeal of DADT, most of those are REMF's, and have more in common with civilians than they do with soldiers or Marines. 


Finally, regarding these "allies" that allow openly gay service; which allies keep the sea and air lanes open to international commerce? How many have liberated 25 million people from tyranny in the last ten years? Who among them keeps Taiwan free from Chinese communist slavery? 


The answer for those of you who suffer from an Ivy League education is: they are not us.   


















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