Gay and in the Military

Our country was founded on the idea that all men are created equal. The second amendment to the constitution gives our citizens the right to bear arms and form militias in the defense of our country. The United States has had a standing army since 1787. The question that I pose is, if all men are created equally should a homosexual be allowed to express his or her sexual preference while serving in the Armed Forces? Whether the answer is yes or no what does this say about our military. Is the matter truly secular or is there some non secular motive lurking behind the scenes? Does it even matter? I will attempt to answer each of these questions with thought provoking answers.

In the land of the free and home of the brave why are we so scared to accept homosexuality? I believe that the answer lies in our Judeo Christian history. Our country was founded mostly by devout Christians. Homosexuality is taboo in the Bible. One could easily use this for justification to ban sexual openness in the military and most Americans would accept this. However, we also live in a land where religion and government are supposed to be separate.

Based on the separation of church and state, our military is setting itself up for a dilemma. By banning the openness of homosexuality in the military our country is already showing that we are biased to religion. Are we are going against our own constitution by discriminating homosexuality. Is this discrimination solely based on protecting the rights of homosexuals, or is this discrimination infringing upon their rights? This is a question that one must ask.

If we are discriminating homosexuality in the military, and if it is based on non secular reasons, then the question is where does this stop. I ask you to think about this in political terms. Democrats seem to be more liberal when it comes to homosexuality. Republicans seem to be less open minded about the subject. Over the past twenty years many people feel that the Republican Party has become increasingly influenced by the ultraconservative Christian right. The Christian right does not support the concept of homosexuality. Should one particular world view dominate a major political party’s decision making process? If so than is this constitutional? One must consider what would happen to the plight of homosexuals in America if an ultra conservative candidate were to become president.

The issue of homosexuals being allowed to express themselves in the military may just be the tip of the iceberg. Our country seems to be torn between conservative Christian values and liberal open-mindedness. Where will it lead? If the conservatives were to take power homosexuality may become intolerable. If extreme liberals were to take power gay marriage may become the norm. The issue can be viewed this way, six one way and half a dozen another. Regardless of whether or not either of those hypothetical situations was to ever occur, I believe that people should be allowed to express themselves whether they are working in a retail store or defending this country.