Don’t Ask Don’t Tell

On Wednesday December 22, 2010 at 9:15am President Obama will be signing a bill that repeals Don’t Ask Don’t Tell.

It’s about time.

Personally, I don’t believe in war. I don’t believe in killing. I don’t believe that the only way to keep peace is through violence. I don’t believe in retaliation (even though my mind goes there at times). As my buddy Shane Claiborne says,

“American needs the Amish to run Homeland Security and Jesus for President.”

I’m reading an impactful book right now by Tony Campolo: Choose Love Not Power: How to Right the World’s Wrongs from a Place of Weakness. It says everything I’m thinking about war and its implications in power. I’m tired of the slogan:

If only I (or a country or a group or an organization) were in control everything would be better.

That’s not how cultural or economic stability can ever be facilitated over the long haul. Regardless of my thoughts, our world works through a filter that believes the only way to have influence is through gaining power. All of this to say, though, if gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender people choose to join the military, it just doesn’t make sense to deny them that choice.

I sure don’t want to fight. I don’t want to retaliate through violence. I don’t want to search for weapons of mass destruction. I don’t want to be the big brother fighting other people’s or countries battles. I don’t want to rule the world through war to gain the control of oil. And I don’t believe Jesus would want any of those things either.

All that any of those things have gotten us are a bunch of enemies (which we ourselves called the Axis of Evil – thanks Bush), trillions of dollars of debt to China and everyone else because we keep taking unnecessary loans and printing more money (thanks Obama) and who knows what’s next…

Here is another post I wrote about this topic last year, speaking to some hard-nosed military lifers.

We live in the land of the free and the home of the brave, and if free and brave are defined by some people (including LGBTs) as an ability to join the military, then that is their right to do so. It was a ridiculous rule in the first place that President Clinton said he had to instate due to bi-partisan pressure (PS – since when do President’s fully give in to the other party’s demands?). So it’s long overdue that Don’t Ask Don’t Tell is now history.

Much love.