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I decided to put these thoughts here, rather than in my personal blog (http://aishabintjamil.livejournal.com/) because the chain of thought was partly set off by some research I'm doing for a novel in progress.
A week or so ago a friend sent me a link asking me to sign a petition in support of Lt. Dan Choi, and Army Reservist who is in the process of being discharged for violating the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy. If you haven't come across his story, you can read some details here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/05/07/dan-choi-fired-gay-arabic_n_199592.html). It's a story which has been repeated many times in the last several decades - a competent, skilled and dedicated member of the armed forces being thrown away because their sexual orientation frightens people.
I signed the petition, although I expect it to accomplish little more than perhaps providing some emotional comfort to Lt. Choi after they discharge him. The military will not listen to the opinions of a random civilian, and indeed, may not be able to legally, if they wished to. The military court is bound, at least in theory, to abide by the regulations as currently written. Only a change in those regulations will make any real difference.
I found myself thinking about this situation in contrast to some research I'd been doing for the novel project. I've been reading quite a bit on the history of Israel, and specifically on its military. The Israeli military is widely respected as one of the most professional and effective armies in the world.
They've also had a formal policy forbidding any sort of discrimination against personnel who may be gay or lesbian since 1993. (There's a nice summary of this history, as well as that of several of our other allies here: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090712/ap_on_re_us/gays_in_the_ranks ) That's a trial period of some 16 years, and the skies appear not to have fallen. Israel's army has not evaporated, or turned on itself, and or become so incompetent that their neighbors have rolled over them, or any of the other catastrophes so frequently cited by supporters of the ban on homosexuals in the military.
The contrast between their policy and ours is even more stark when you consider it in light of the fact that Israel is explicitly a religious nation. Judaism is enshrined as part of their national identity. The country virtually shuts down for the Sabbath, including things like public transportation. Public and government institutions, including the military, which serve food are required to serve it according to the Jewish dietary laws. There are specific exemptions and accommodations made in their military services for service members from ultra-orthodox backgrounds to serve while continuing their religious studies. In short, everything revolves quite openly around the practice of orthodox Judaism, which in general is not particularly accepting of homosexuality. (You can find a quick overview of the topic here: http://judaism.about.com/od/homosexualityandjudaism/a/samesex.htm)
So, here we have a country which is an openly religious state, embracing a religion which disapproves of homosexual activity in much the same was a conservative Christianity, yet it still feels able to accept and co-exist with its homosexual citizens, and of including them in its military services.
Now contrast that with the US, which is in theory a secular country, explicitly forbidden from embracing or endorsing any one religion. We, apparently, do not think our military personnel are capable of co-existing with gay service members, if the proponents of the ban on gays in the military are to be believed. What's wrong with this picture?
A week or so ago a friend sent me a link asking me to sign a petition in support of Lt. Dan Choi, and Army Reservist who is in the process of being discharged for violating the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy. If you haven't come across his story, you can read some details here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/05/07/dan-choi-fired-gay-arabic_n_199592.html). It's a story which has been repeated many times in the last several decades - a competent, skilled and dedicated member of the armed forces being thrown away because their sexual orientation frightens people.
I signed the petition, although I expect it to accomplish little more than perhaps providing some emotional comfort to Lt. Choi after they discharge him. The military will not listen to the opinions of a random civilian, and indeed, may not be able to legally, if they wished to. The military court is bound, at least in theory, to abide by the regulations as currently written. Only a change in those regulations will make any real difference.
I found myself thinking about this situation in contrast to some research I'd been doing for the novel project. I've been reading quite a bit on the history of Israel, and specifically on its military. The Israeli military is widely respected as one of the most professional and effective armies in the world.
They've also had a formal policy forbidding any sort of discrimination against personnel who may be gay or lesbian since 1993. (There's a nice summary of this history, as well as that of several of our other allies here: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090712/ap_on_re_us/gays_in_the_ranks ) That's a trial period of some 16 years, and the skies appear not to have fallen. Israel's army has not evaporated, or turned on itself, and or become so incompetent that their neighbors have rolled over them, or any of the other catastrophes so frequently cited by supporters of the ban on homosexuals in the military.
The contrast between their policy and ours is even more stark when you consider it in light of the fact that Israel is explicitly a religious nation. Judaism is enshrined as part of their national identity. The country virtually shuts down for the Sabbath, including things like public transportation. Public and government institutions, including the military, which serve food are required to serve it according to the Jewish dietary laws. There are specific exemptions and accommodations made in their military services for service members from ultra-orthodox backgrounds to serve while continuing their religious studies. In short, everything revolves quite openly around the practice of orthodox Judaism, which in general is not particularly accepting of homosexuality. (You can find a quick overview of the topic here: http://judaism.about.com/od/homosexualityandjudaism/a/samesex.htm)
So, here we have a country which is an openly religious state, embracing a religion which disapproves of homosexual activity in much the same was a conservative Christianity, yet it still feels able to accept and co-exist with its homosexual citizens, and of including them in its military services.
Now contrast that with the US, which is in theory a secular country, explicitly forbidden from embracing or endorsing any one religion. We, apparently, do not think our military personnel are capable of co-existing with gay service members, if the proponents of the ban on gays in the military are to be believed. What's wrong with this picture?