Don't What?

I'm glad to see this Don't Ask Don't Tell thing has finally ended. Yes, it was signed by the Senate and the House and is waiting to be signed by the president. This will help end persecution of people who are giving their lives for their country. This is the only thing that made sense. I remember when I first heard the term "don't ask don't tell" and I though it meant that homosexuals did not have to tell if they wanted and that others weren't allowed to ask. In other words I though it was to protect these individuals who are serving their country, not alienate them.

The more this has been discussed the more I was convinced that this policy was a gross injustice that should end as quickly as possible. I do listen to more than one side of arguments but no matter what I don't see how you can have someone endanger their life for you and fire or not hire them if they are honest about themselves. In every other sector that would be um....illegal. This should not be surprising as the US military has always been behind the times with human rights- segregating black until after WW2, having Japanese American troops even as they held other Japanese American citizens in concentration camps, and still holds a reputation for exciting racial division, but sexual orientation is a private matter and never needed to be involved in the military's process.

I admit that when I was a child I would not play with the guy who hung out with the girls and acted a bit too feminine, but as you grow you put aside childish behavior. This conflict makes me wonder about the scale of homophobia in the America. How would a person being honest about their relationships, marriages or other family "create an unacceptable risk to the high standards of morale, good order and discipline, and unit cohesion that are the essence of military capability."? Really what did people think was going to happen? A soldier will find out the guy he works with likes guys and will run into enemy gunfire in order to get away?