Don’t Ask Don’t Tell: Don’t Bother

Andrew Brimer
February 28, 2010
Filed under Opinion & Editorial

Recently the Obama administration’s promise to overthrow the Don’t Ask Don’t Tell policy that is currently active in America’s military has become a rather hot topic that is receiving increasing press coverage daily.
On one side, you have those of a generally more conservative nature arguing that Don’t Ask Don’t Tell is supposed to protect homosexuals, the U.S. image, and also keep controversy from affecting unit cohesion. On the other side, you have liberals arguing about personal rights and gay rights groups battering down Obama’s front door with the claims that he has turned his back on the same gay community that helped him gain the presidency.
My question for all groups involved – straight, gay, right, and left – is WHY? Why fight? Why argue? Most importantly of all, why would any of these people seek to draw our president’s already questionable priorities towards issues of gay rights when we, as a nation, are facing problems of infinitely greater importance?
Currently, our nation (and the world) finds itself amidst an economic slump of epic proportions. Curiously, Obama’s administration chose to embark on the wonderful socialist adventure of health care reform at a time when people were (and for the most part still are) more concerned about the American economy and national security than they are/were about using their tax dollars to pay for the medical care of every bum on the street.
President Obama successfully impaled his administration’s effectiveness by embroiling the whole nation in health care controversy. Meanwhile, environmental concerns and the issue of global warming continue to pose untold threat, places like Yemen degenerate into war zones, Iran has come closer to obtaining nuclear weapons, South and North Korea have moved to an even icier relationship (who would have thought that possible), the world economy still suffers, and natural disasters like the Haitian Earthquake occur.
At times such as this, when we need our military at its peak fighting condition and our leaders at their best focus, both political parties decide NOW is the time to begin debate and social experimentation? America’s political scene and our president’s lack of focus are combining to create an even more dangerous world.
When an individual serves in America’s military, their sexual orientation should not be open for public discussion one way or another. Opponents of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell claim they desire gays to have the right to publicly serve. My question is this: At what point should a soldier ever remark upon their sexual orientation? It’s ultimately unimportant, and I believe Don’t Ask Don’t Tell emphasizes this. In short, the military’s take is “You may be gay or straight, either way, we don’t want to know. We want you to work hard, to fight hard, and to serve honorably.” Currently rules already exist which forbid fraternization between individuals within a unit- be they gay or straight. So, ultimately both sides are fighting over whether homosexuals may announce their preference while serving- an issue which ultimately has no effect on national security yet currently steals so much time from our policymakers.
My suggestion for the nation as a whole is to force policymakers and politicians to deal with the dangerous pressing issues of the economy and security before devoting time and effort to things as trivial as military individuals’ sexual preferences.