The Shadow-gloom and Weight of the Sacred

Credit: ::Hap
http://www.flickr.com/photos/_hap_/
CC BY-SA 2.0

Near the end of last year President Obama repealed the infamous Don't Ask Don't Tell (DADT) policy towards homosexuals serving in the military. It was considered a landmark act, and something that I think was the right thing to do. I believe the policy was discriminatory and has no place in the United States. Whatever issues Republicans and their ilk have with homosexuality, discrimination has no place in this country. In fact, the irony is not lost on my that our military is commissioned with protecting the nation's ideals, but has (at least on this issue) been in violation of the nation's ideals. (I've written before on how I find such policies confounding.)

Last month, I came across this interesting statement by Mike Huckabee, a Foxnews commentator, former governor, and likely presidential candidate.

“There’s been some talk that the military is fine with having same-sex orientation people. But if you really surveyed the combat troops, that is not at all the case.”

Also, Huckabee stated:

“And when the soldiers in the foxholes make the decisions, they choose something different — and we should listen to them.”

What I find interesting is that, for Huckabee, there is no concern about discriminatory policy. And, if the soldiers "in the foxholes" want a discriminatory policy in place, then who are we to talk about right and wrong? Who are we to talk about the ideals of our nation? Huckabee is a social conservative--a Christian at that. It is superfluous, I suppose, to say that he disagrees with the homosexual lifestyle. It seems Mike Huckabee has found others (in the military) who also disagree with the homosexual lifestyle and he is reinforcing his opinion with their opinion to state that he was right all along.

But, as I said above, opinions should not matter in cases such as these. If rights and benefits are granted to some citizens because of their sexual orientation (i.e., they are heterosexual), then these rights and benefits cannot be withheld because of sexual orientation (i.e., they are homosexual) without discrimination. Just because the soldiers are in favor of DADT does not validate the policy.