Don't Ask, Don't Tell

Photo takes from realnewsblog.com
By: Chris Valletta

The "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy was instituted in the United States in 1993 and essentially allows gay Americans to serve in the armed forces, so long as they do not admit to their sexual orientation. This past fall, a 10 month study of the issue of whether to repeal the policy was revealed by the Pentagon. The House passed legislation to repeal the policy, but the Senate has stalled this from being enacted. According to The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, multiple Senators have gone on record to speak about the policy.

Senator Evan Bayh (D) supports the repeal of the policy, citing that gay Americans have been fighting in wars long before the policy was put into effect. Senator Susan Collins (R) also spoke in support of a repeal, reading from a soldier's quote which basically said that no one cared about a member of his troop that was gay because he was just as big and violent as anyone else. However, Senator John McCain (R) has consistently remained adamantly opposed to the repeal of the policy. In response to the study that was conducted, he has revealed concerns that the surveys sent out that were responded to do not represent the full views of the armed forces as a whole. Senator McCain also notes that the chairman of the committee, Admiral Mullen, is not directly in charge of troops.

In response to Senator McCain, Admiral Mullen cited specific examples of the many instances in his career where he was in charge of troops. Additionally, he confirmed that the surveys reached 400,000 troops, as well as 150,000 family members of those troops. Admiral Mullen was able to successfully shoot down McCain's opposition with these facts. However, the big picture here is once again pleasure's role in politics. The pleasure here is homosexuality, which has still yet to be accepted by a good amount of Americans, in particular those with conservative views such as the likes of Senator McCain. It is telling that we are in the year 2010, yet Americans who have gay sexual orientation cannot admit who they are to be able to serve their own country. This policy suggests that gay Americans are not truly American because of the same-sex pleasure they experience in their lives.

It seems as though many Americans are still afraid to believe the fact that there are gay Americans among us that receive this type of pleasure. To some it appears alien and foreign. The real issue isn't the fact that gay Americans in the armed forces will have an impact on a troops performance, team-work, morale, or trust; but that they receive pleasure from a different source than most others. Why does this pleasure have to be not spoken of? This is blatant repression, amazingly apparent even in the name of the policy. Such an open repression from the United States government shows just how afraid this culture is of its pleasures and how the repression of these pleasure's hinders our lives in many different facets.