I’m a bit baffled by the rabid response people are having to a recent statement by General Peter Pace, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in Washington DC. In an interview he was asked about the rather daft “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy that allows homosexuals to be in the United States military if they keep a sufficiently low profile. His response was that he thought the current policy was inappropriate:
“[It] to me says that we, by policy, would be condoning what I believe is immoral activity, and therefore, as an individual, I would not want that to be our policy.”
Okay, so he thinks that homosexuality is immoral. Isn’t it his right to have an opinion, don’t we want military leaders who have a strong sense of morality, and are illuminated by their spiritual or religious beliefs, not the latest CNN poll?
Notice that what General Pace didn’t say was “I’m going to get rid of this policy” or “I’m going to ferret out all gays and throw them out of the military!” He’s just speaking his own mind, sharing his own personal views on what is right and wrong.
I might not agree with his perspective one iota, but I respect him for having the guts to speak his mind and certainly am in favor of us having people running the military who have such a clear sense of right and wrong, not just wimpy marshmallows who do whatever the Command in Chief tells them.
While I’m ranting a bit here, I have to say that the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy is one of the very stupidest ways to not face an issue I have ever seen from the government! It’s neither an endorsement of homosexuality or a condemnation of it, it’s not one that approves of gays in the military or says they shouldn’t be there. It’s … a masterful example of how you can balance on a fence and never really commit to either side, and it’s a sad way to run the most powerful nation in the world.
I’d rather have the military come out openly and state that people of any sexual orientation are welcome as long as they’re good soldiers, respectful of their peers and commanders, and faithful and patriotic to their country. I mean, when they’re in a tent alone, does it really make any difference what kind of combination or action is happening?
Alternatively, if they were to make a clear and strong statement that non-heterosexual orientation was grounds for being either rejected from the military in the first place or drummed out of the service, then wouldn’t it be reasonable to also extend that to other presumably anti-social behaviors in this realm, like rape? If a female cadet accuses a male cadet of rape, they aren’t even kicked out of military school, let alone the service.
Nonetheless, regardless of your beliefs about the appropriateness of homosexuals in the modern military, do you agree that General Pace should be allowed the right to his own opinion, not lambasted for daring to speak something that isn’t pandering to the politically correct crowd?
[references: Senator Brownback, Redstate, Washington Post, Accuracy in Media and SF Chronicle, just to name a few…]
I think that our society in general is headed in a very bad direction: telling people what they should or should not believe. I think this is especially true of elected officials and our country’s highest officers, and I think it is largely media-influenced. What happens when people are afraid to express their beliefs in public? I think that leads to people being afraid to hold any beliefs at all, except those “accepted” by society. General Pace is a person, not a robot — we shouldn’t expect him to hold to someone else’s beliefs. When freedom of belief is repressed, what kind of backwards society does that make us?
His personal opinion didn’t belong in his testimony. What does it have to do with military policy?
Nothing. It was completely inappropriate, and really disrespectful toward all the gay people in uniform currently risking life and limb under his command.
Correction: I wrote testimony, but it was actually a press briefing. Nevertheless, he was in uniform, speaking in his official capacity.
I don’t care what his personal opinion is of gays. But to speak out on this publicly, in uniform, for the world to hear, was wrong. At least he admitted it.
I completely disagree, obviously. He wasn’t offering up an official position, he wasn’t saying “The Army believes that…” he was just offering up his personal moral view of the situation. Would you have all officials be neutral vessels for the Official Government Position, without having values of their own?
Any Federal Employee has been giving the guidelines that clearly mark the line between personal belief and official comments.. and if you are in uniform you are officially representing the office for which you are employed. He was wrong to speak his opinion.
He is allowed to have an opinion and give it out of uniform.. or on a blog done from his personal computer.
In uniform he’s not allowed to say his boss is a moron either. Very clear wording on these things.
He has sworn an oath that states these things. He also isn’t allowed to say, “Why these zealots believe in Christ is beyond me. Seems like mentioning God in our oaths and such is silly.” Nor can he say, “Witches make excellent soldiers. Wiccans are most welcome.”.. actually.. he probably can say the latter.
He can state his opinion to wrong-doing.. ie.. whistle-blowing. That right has been restrengthend after the current presidential administration tried to weaken it.
So.. if he specifically invokes certain parts of his written rights, he can state his opinion.
I disagree. “Don’t ask, don’t tell,” was all the rage when I served, mainly because it was new. I wouldn’t have signed up knowing that I would have to shower with lesbians. Midwestern Dude would most certainly not signed the dotted line if he were aware that he would be in the company of naked gay men.
I’m glad that the General stated his opinion because it is the opinion of many soldiers and most of America, even if Hollywood does a great job at accepting and celebrating homosexuality. We don’t need a committee to agree on what the “official opinion” will be. We need a leader with strong values to remind us to stay on the right path.
Personally, I don’t think gays ought to serve. Homosexuality is not an American value. And if they do serve, they need to stay in the closet.
And … schleppermom.. if your child is gay.. should they live their life in secret and feel ashamed of being themselves?? Can they follow in your footsteps and serve their country? Our country stands for Freedom.. Freedom to be you.. NOT Freedom to be what you think I should be. I’m straight.. and I have gay friends.. but I wouldn’t call them gay.. I’d call them friends.
Closed-minded people in all forms are simply ingnorant and fearful.. it’s ashame .. I stupidly thought Attachment Parenting had people that gave unconditional love to kids… obviously not.
Yes, if my kids are gay, I would not accept their lifestyle. But I will love them and pray for them, that they will want to be straight and go to heaven. I would advise them not to join the military because there are cruel straight soldiers who would and have raped gay soldiers. I think that it is beautiful and proper that my gay child would want to serve, but a gay soldier does not represent, as I’ve mentioned, American values. But that doesn’t mean that I wouldn’t let my adult gay child sleep in my home, eat the food from my cabinets. Albeit, I would not allow his lifestyle in my home. No gay porn. No gay friends.
I was unaware that I had to be a leftist to practice Attachment Parenting.
I’m right there with you schleppermom!! Don’t back down on what you believe in. The darkness of this world hates the light. Don’t forget that Jesus was hated for glorifying His father by speaking against sin and offering freedom from sin. I, quite frankly, am disgusted with how “celebrated” homosexuality has become. I do believe it is a temptation just like any other sin and may be a struggle for some to overcome, but the Bible says that there is no sin that is too powerful for us to resist…God always provides a way of escape. Let’s pray for our country; Hollywood and the media have such a powerful influence over vulverable minds who need the power of the gospel to transform their lives. I know I will be hated for saying this…it just proves how GOOD Jesus is and that everything He ever said was right and trustworthy. Praise Him forever and ever!!! : )
….and as far as there being a conflict between being against homosexuality and embracing attachment parenting…if you really love your child, you wouldn’t want them to do anything to harm themselves or their eternal destiny. If you love your child, you only want the very BEST for them. I want my children to go to heaven and live a life that is not entangled in sin and perversion. My children have eyes that shine with joy and their hearts are filled with love for what is good and pure : ) It is a blessing to know that I am giving them a moral foundation from the Bible, that will protect them from a lot of dangers in this world (jail, STD’s, depression, drug and alcohol addiction…). I certainly wouldn’t let them step in front of a semi just because they wanted to. For example, why do we have labels like “alcoholic”? Don’t we try to help those people. They may have been born with a predisposition to crave alcohol but that doesn’t mean that that is what is best for them and that they should just continue in that lifestyle til their death…if you really loved that person, you would want him or her to get help and be free from that struggle. In the same way, if I had a friend who was “gay”, I’d try to help them see the truth and let them know that it is possible to be free from that sin…just read the testimony of Dennis Jernigan.
Here is a quote from Dennis Jernigan, a man who was formerly enslaved to a gay lifestyle and now has 9 children with his wife:
“I feel strongly that any type of civil union outside the traditions of marriage between a man and a woman weakens the very foundation of a strong society, which is the Family. Though we see many marriages failing, that should not negate the fact that the safest, most nurturing place for a child is found in the bonds of a father and a mother. Children need both masculine and feminine influences. Anything else is less than God’s best. Do we need to do better at strengthening traditional marriage? Absolutely. And one of the best places to begin is to maintain the sanctity of marriage between a man and a woman.”
What a way to give your child the very BEST : )
Does anybody have statistics regarding attachment parenting and boys becoming gay?
One thing is for sure,…if gays are right then we wouldn’t exist!
Do not fear the homosexual (unless you are stranded in the wilderness and he is in your tent about which, you had no say because you are both soldiers and were assigned there).
Fear instead the homosexual agenda that seeks to destroy all that we know and love, and have stood shoulder-to-shoulder together in war to preserve.
The Gay community wants to silence all who speak against them, even if what you’re saying is true, and make it a criminal offence to do so. This has the effect of silencing other groups with completely separate agendas, who also have a right to free speech.
If I was a soldier I’d like to know the military did their job in weeding out gays so I don’t end up sharing a bunk and my showers with them.
Yet there is help for them, in the USA 150,000+ ex-gays realise they were wrong, mainly victims of child abuse, and either get married (that is, to the opposite sex) or become celibate.
Gays need help and direction, not ostricising, and certainly not support for their lifestyles and the expense of taxpayers, our medical budgets and the fabric of future society as we know it.
Wow, what a slew of hatemongering. I’m amazed how off track this little train jumped. The original question had nothing to do with the resulting tirade. If you care to remember, the Bible also states that before you pluck the speck of sawdust from your brother’s eye, take the plank out of your own. I believe there’s enough planks stacked up here to build quite a nice little log cabin for someone.
Regardless of your personal and religious perspective on homosexuality, being gay doesn’t make someone an incompetent soldier or an inferior human being. We live in the land of the free, free for everyone, not just free for those who get voted into the “we approve of you” clique. If we started excluding people based on that premise, some of you just might find yourselves thrown out on the proverbial sidewalk with all the other “riffraff” you’re so vehemently condemning here.
My father was the expert at laise faire parenting technique he most likely picked up from the free love days in the 1960s. My mother, on the other hand, was mentally ill and rarely able to interact with her children. I turned out gay, but my three older brothers didn’t. With all this talk about environment, no one has breached the topic of how people raised in the same family can come out completely different.