It seems appropriate today to mention the portion of our armed forces who are forced to hide who they are from their fellow troops. But they may not have to much longer.
I'd like to discuss the implications the policy has had, and then I'd like to present my conservative case for its repeal.
Don't Ask Don't Tell was enacted in 1993 because some people who get weirded out by the thought of getting checked out by someone of their own sex thought that same scenario would weaken morale, unity, etc. in our military. (Slightly oversimplified, maybe.)
So here is what DADT means for people who are gay and in the military.
When other soldiers are talking about how much they miss their significant others, the ones who are gay are not allowed to commiserate. For fear of being discharged, they must hold their feelings inside. They are more apt to experience depression as a result.
DADT means that in order to ward off rumors, people sometimes go on dates with people they are not attracted to. That is not fun. It might be like wearing a costume when it is not Halloween, or being shoved onto stage when you don't consider yourself much of an actor, but you have seen the play a few times.
DADT also means there are men and women serving a country full of citizens who primarily think of them as abominations. They are offering their lives in order to protect people who hate them. Interesting concept.
Even if you understand that these implications of DADT shape the lives of some of our military personnel in odious ways, the policy may still be justifiable if its premise still stands.
But the thing is, it doesn't.
The following is a list of countries that allow gays and lesbians to serve openly in their militaries:
Argentina
Australia
Austria
Belgium
Bermuda
Brazil
Canada
Colombia
Czech Republic
Denmark
Estonia
Finland
France
Germany
Ireland
Israel
Italy
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Malta
The Netherlands
New Zealand
Norway
Peru
Philippines
Romania
Russia
Slovenia
South Africa
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
United Kingdom
Uruguay
I think it's reasonable to conjecture that if there were ill effects from allowing people to admit they are homosexual, this list would not be as long.
These reasons alone convince me that Don't Ask Don't Tell belongs in the trash, but if you're still not convinced, think about this:
It costs A LOT to train someone to serve in the military.
I have seen estimates that range from $150,000 to $3 million. Obviously it depends on what they are being trained to do. A private in the army costs far less to train than a navy seal or a pilot.
If you send someone home, you need to replace them.
About 12,500 people have been discharged because of DADT.
12,500 replacements were needed.
So at a minimum, tax payers have paid—wait a sec, my tiny calculator thinks a number this big must be an error... TI-85 to the rescue—$1,875,000,000 to train people to take the place of the gays and lesbians who have been discharged from the military.
Minimum. One billion, eight hundred seventy-five million dollars. (Just another waste that begs for conservatives to call themselves something more accurate.)
Hopefully on next year's Memorial Day, everyone who has served in the military will be honored.
