I keep hearing about how Don't Ask, Don't Tell is somehow unconstitutional.
Like you'd be able to pick the gay guys out of a squad of actual Marines because the gay ones are somehow more feminine....even though they're still frickin MARINES.
Personally, I wouldn't mind having my butt covered by a guy who thinks my butt's pretty cute.
Maybe it'd motivate him to fight for more than just country.
Of course, given my lack of self-discipline, the gay guy in my foxhole would probably be more fit, a better shot, stronger, and a better hand-to-hand combatant than me.
A better wingman there is none.
It seems that many people are underestimating our soldiers' ability to keep their priorities straight, in the barracks or on the battlefield.
Either that, or maybe our soldiers aren't the finely honed battlefield geniuses they're made out to be?
I'd rather be optimistic, and say that the vast majority of our soldiers, no matter their orientation, would actually be (gasp!) PROFESSIONAL regarding their treatment of each other as fellow soldiers.
That may mean regulations to keep ALL on-duty fraternization prohibited or to a minimum, and enforcing that policy.
In the meantime, we should trust the men and women we send to die for us to be professionals when on-duty or deployed, and stay the hell out of their business the rest of the time.
Friday, October 29, 2010
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
I think that no sane individual is 100% at either end of the political spectrum.
It tends to be an issue-by-issue arrangement.
The problems start when extremist members of one group start trying to define the opposition's position FOR THEM....as we see in the left- or right-leaning media, who spend more time talking about what they think the other guys want than about what THEY want.
Prime example I've seen many times in many variations online:
"You believe abortion should be okay, so how can you think the death penalty isn't?"
Horrible generality trying to basically tell someone what they "really" think.
Opposing groups (in any realm, not just politics) generally feel the NEED for conflict, because if they didn't they'd have to sit down and LISTEN TO EACH OTHER, and probably find they're more alike than their argumentative selves would ever admit.
Language also comes into play, in our era of catchphrase and soundbite.
Sensationalists know connotations all too well, and use them against one another to sway the general public into a panic based around the possibility of "those guys" ever getting into a position of power.
Metaphors are also used ad nauseum, and generally even when they FAIL are held onto dogmatically.
...all this I learned in the process of transforming from an argument addict into a listener.
For myself, these are some issues I take one "side" or the other regarding, but each is too complex to boil down to just "conservative" or "liberal," in my opinion:
"Conservative" - I believe the federal government has become bloated in power and responsibility, and that the American citizenry has become conditioned to look to the federal government to solve our problems and find us jobs and help us all retire, with a disgusting sense of entitlement.
"Conservative" - I believe arming the citizenry can aid in crime reduction, as long as the constabulary remains at a higher level of armament in order to retain the visible position of holding higher authority to enforce laws than the average citizen.
"Conservative" - I believe municipal governments are not given nearly enough credit for the massive amount of person-to-person work they hold responsibility for, and that local government holds by its nature less aptitude for corruption than state and federal governments.
"Conservative" - I believe America has become so dependent on other nations, that our national pride is misplaced. We basically act like we don't need anyone, yet most of the products we use are manufactured overseas. Ironically, our unwillingness to pay a little more for domestic products is the result of our own capitalistic obsession with "getting our money's worth", no matter how dependent on China, Japan, etc. we become.
"Liberal" - I believe it immoral and illegal to deploy military personnel without the explicit permission of Congress in a formal declaration of war, and that without said declaration, any initiated or extended deployment is a crime amounting to high treason, for which the chief executive and the joint chiefs should be held responsible.
"Liberal" - I believe the U.S. has become a fat cat holding a big gun among the nations of the world, especially in our deployment of military bases throughout the world. If any other nation wished to build a base on our soil, we would call it an act of war, yet we expect our allies to tolerate our armed presence on THEIR soil without complaint. I believe these bases have and are draining the federal budget, require far too many of our troops which could be either discharged or assigned post at home, and contribute to international hatred of the U.S.
"Liberal" - I believe we, as a nation, due to the above sense of entitlement and fat-caterry, have completely disregarded our natural resources and their conservation, keeping our National Parks open strictly to be tourist attractions to gain revenue. As such, we continue to lay waste to our last untouched wilderness, and to turn our cities into giant trash heaps.
"Liberal" - I believe our nation was a bought and paid for decades ago by big business and the wealthy, and that any and all "political" decisions we of the un-wealthy can make are merely illusions to make us THINK we have a say in the matter of what happens to our country, especially in the matters of poverty, class and racial stratification, and class mobility.
A brief smattering, to be sure.
It tends to be an issue-by-issue arrangement.
The problems start when extremist members of one group start trying to define the opposition's position FOR THEM....as we see in the left- or right-leaning media, who spend more time talking about what they think the other guys want than about what THEY want.
Prime example I've seen many times in many variations online:
"You believe abortion should be okay, so how can you think the death penalty isn't?"
Horrible generality trying to basically tell someone what they "really" think.
Opposing groups (in any realm, not just politics) generally feel the NEED for conflict, because if they didn't they'd have to sit down and LISTEN TO EACH OTHER, and probably find they're more alike than their argumentative selves would ever admit.
Language also comes into play, in our era of catchphrase and soundbite.
Sensationalists know connotations all too well, and use them against one another to sway the general public into a panic based around the possibility of "those guys" ever getting into a position of power.
Metaphors are also used ad nauseum, and generally even when they FAIL are held onto dogmatically.
...all this I learned in the process of transforming from an argument addict into a listener.
For myself, these are some issues I take one "side" or the other regarding, but each is too complex to boil down to just "conservative" or "liberal," in my opinion:
"Conservative" - I believe the federal government has become bloated in power and responsibility, and that the American citizenry has become conditioned to look to the federal government to solve our problems and find us jobs and help us all retire, with a disgusting sense of entitlement.
"Conservative" - I believe arming the citizenry can aid in crime reduction, as long as the constabulary remains at a higher level of armament in order to retain the visible position of holding higher authority to enforce laws than the average citizen.
"Conservative" - I believe municipal governments are not given nearly enough credit for the massive amount of person-to-person work they hold responsibility for, and that local government holds by its nature less aptitude for corruption than state and federal governments.
"Conservative" - I believe America has become so dependent on other nations, that our national pride is misplaced. We basically act like we don't need anyone, yet most of the products we use are manufactured overseas. Ironically, our unwillingness to pay a little more for domestic products is the result of our own capitalistic obsession with "getting our money's worth", no matter how dependent on China, Japan, etc. we become.
"Liberal" - I believe it immoral and illegal to deploy military personnel without the explicit permission of Congress in a formal declaration of war, and that without said declaration, any initiated or extended deployment is a crime amounting to high treason, for which the chief executive and the joint chiefs should be held responsible.
"Liberal" - I believe the U.S. has become a fat cat holding a big gun among the nations of the world, especially in our deployment of military bases throughout the world. If any other nation wished to build a base on our soil, we would call it an act of war, yet we expect our allies to tolerate our armed presence on THEIR soil without complaint. I believe these bases have and are draining the federal budget, require far too many of our troops which could be either discharged or assigned post at home, and contribute to international hatred of the U.S.
"Liberal" - I believe we, as a nation, due to the above sense of entitlement and fat-caterry, have completely disregarded our natural resources and their conservation, keeping our National Parks open strictly to be tourist attractions to gain revenue. As such, we continue to lay waste to our last untouched wilderness, and to turn our cities into giant trash heaps.
"Liberal" - I believe our nation was a bought and paid for decades ago by big business and the wealthy, and that any and all "political" decisions we of the un-wealthy can make are merely illusions to make us THINK we have a say in the matter of what happens to our country, especially in the matters of poverty, class and racial stratification, and class mobility.
A brief smattering, to be sure.
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
October 6, 2006
Crazy how time can fly.
Four years ago today, I drove 80 miles to meet a stranger from the Internet.
We'd exchanged pictures, chatted on Instant Messenger (dunno if anyone uses those anymore outside of Facebook), and gradually gotten to know each other, at least in the context of frozen faces on screens.
We'd heard each other's voices via microphones, and even latched onto each other's penchant for music by singing little songs to each other via our computers.
It kinda faded in and out for awhile.
But after my relationship crumbled, I looked again to the long-haired cop daughter, and felt a swelling of attraction.
I asked if I could come see her.
I think she was shocked, pointing out that 80 miles lay between us.
"Honey, I'm from Texas. I grew up 80 miles from the nearest Braum's."
So I ventured into the unknown, not sure what I would find, and she not sure if this man coming her way was really whom he had claimed to be in the much-decieved world of the Internet.
A first kiss (in a piano practice room), a first date (to see 300), and many happy moments later, we were joined at the hip.
Three years, fighting through her mother's final heavyweight bout with cancer, and a million joyous moments later, we were joined at the hip and at the left-hand ring finger.
If someone were to ask me if God exists, I could point to my marriage as prime evidence to the affirmative.
Had I not indicated X-city as my location, had she not been looking at that EXACT time, we would never have found each other.
Plus...up until we met I was an arrogant, selfish bastard pretty much all the time.
Starting arguments, procrastinating (especially in school), mooching off family, etc.
But once we were together, making sacrifices came second-nature to me, especially as the ordeal with her mother's health began and continued.
She's asked me many times what kept me around during those years, especially given that I was the boyfriend...not bound by familial obligation to stay or help or do anything.
The short answer?
I felt like it would have just been the height of douchbaggery to ditch when the going got tough.
The real answer is deeper.
The divine presence of God and the amazing presence of my wife are the only things which could transform me from selfish and arrogant to selfless within the course of just a few months.
For that, and for all she has given me in the intervening moments, I will always treasure her.
Four years ago today, I drove 80 miles to meet a stranger from the Internet.
We'd exchanged pictures, chatted on Instant Messenger (dunno if anyone uses those anymore outside of Facebook), and gradually gotten to know each other, at least in the context of frozen faces on screens.
We'd heard each other's voices via microphones, and even latched onto each other's penchant for music by singing little songs to each other via our computers.
It kinda faded in and out for awhile.
But after my relationship crumbled, I looked again to the long-haired cop daughter, and felt a swelling of attraction.
I asked if I could come see her.
I think she was shocked, pointing out that 80 miles lay between us.
"Honey, I'm from Texas. I grew up 80 miles from the nearest Braum's."
So I ventured into the unknown, not sure what I would find, and she not sure if this man coming her way was really whom he had claimed to be in the much-decieved world of the Internet.
A first kiss (in a piano practice room), a first date (to see 300), and many happy moments later, we were joined at the hip.
Three years, fighting through her mother's final heavyweight bout with cancer, and a million joyous moments later, we were joined at the hip and at the left-hand ring finger.
If someone were to ask me if God exists, I could point to my marriage as prime evidence to the affirmative.
Had I not indicated X-city as my location, had she not been looking at that EXACT time, we would never have found each other.
Plus...up until we met I was an arrogant, selfish bastard pretty much all the time.
Starting arguments, procrastinating (especially in school), mooching off family, etc.
But once we were together, making sacrifices came second-nature to me, especially as the ordeal with her mother's health began and continued.
She's asked me many times what kept me around during those years, especially given that I was the boyfriend...not bound by familial obligation to stay or help or do anything.
The short answer?
I felt like it would have just been the height of douchbaggery to ditch when the going got tough.
The real answer is deeper.
The divine presence of God and the amazing presence of my wife are the only things which could transform me from selfish and arrogant to selfless within the course of just a few months.
For that, and for all she has given me in the intervening moments, I will always treasure her.
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