For a Democrat-controlled Senate with a friendlier GOP presence, yesterday's halt to repealing "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" is either unabashed cowardice or - for the conspiracy theorists - a sop to interests unknown. It is an ill-designed policy geared at righting a human imperfection. Fearing and banishing that which does not conform to one's standard has been commonplace in our species. Seeking to avoid this (supposedly) triggering a breakdown of the armed forces, top brass came up with DADT and proceeded to completely screw it up. And I doubt the Senate's vote reflected any presence of common sense.
I'd like to know, for the sake of statistics, how many servicemen were dragged before hearings for breaking the "ask" clause, rather than the "tell" one. Bashing someone for being honest and open is easy. Applying the same standard to those who ask useless (or bullying) questions is a tad harder.
DADT has no practical use, for as far as I know a gay soldier's blood is no less red than a straight one's.
It should either be applied across the board and with equal force against those who bother servicemen with queries about their sexual preferences, or struck off altogether; let the armed forces deal with the (oh, shock!) reality that gay people don't enlist to look at their comrades' junk.
Their dedication to the country and its safety leads them to willingly sign off their independence and put their lives on the block. Prejudice and unfairness are not a legal tender to repay them with.
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