Separate But Equal in 2009

Separate But Equal in 2009:
Lifting the Ban on Gays in the Military
By E.N. Jackson
Copyright 2009 E.N. Jackson
Frost Illustrated Inc., V41, Issue 26

Imagine the daily hell of having to live an inauthentic life. Imagine that in this false life, you’re forced to hide who and what you are and have to pretend to be something you’re not, all while having to do your job bigger and better than anyone else around you because you’re a minority. As an African-American woman, this kind of life is not at all difficult for me to imagine, and this is exactly the kind of life that Lt. Dan Choi, an Asian-American man, endured as he served his country valiantly from the moment he enlisted in the United States Army 10 years ago until the day he was informed that he would be discharged for violating Public Law 103-160, more commonly known as “Don’t’ Ask, Don’t Tell.”

Choi, the first soldier to be discharged under the Obama administration because of DADT, is the latest victim of a policy that supports a system of bigotry and discrimination which civil rights leaders fought so hard to end: the policy of “Separate But Equal.” DADT is the 21st century’s “Separate But Equal” clause because essentially what Choi and other GLBT service members have been told is that they can be as gay as they want to be – just as long as they keep it in the closet. Similarly, up until Brown v. The Board of Education, African-Americans were told that we could be educated in the public schools – as long as we agreed to send our children to schools that were in deplorable condition.

In 1993, President Clinton had the opportunity to correct this injustice and stand by his campaign promise to allow all citizens, regardless of sexual orientation, to serve openly in the military. But instead of signing an Executive Order lifting the ban on gays in the military, President Clinton caved in to right wing pressure and signed the DADT “compromise” into law. He, like so many progressive politicians of our time, let himself become a casualty of the Culture Wars. Recently President Obama also had the opportunity to rid our country of this repugnant policy once and for all, yet he, too, seems to be capitulating on his promise to repeal DADT by remaining largely silent on the issue and allowing White House spokespeople like Robert Gibbs to speak for him on this and other GLBT issues. According to Gibbs and other Obama aides, DADT is a pressing concern which the president intends, at some point, to address; in the meantime, however, the issue gets pushed further and further to the political backburner while exemplary service members continue to be targeted.

Sadly, what seems to be overshadowed in this whole debate is a very basic and simple truth: the repeal of DADT is not only a GLBT issue, it is a Civil Rights issue. We as Americans living under a Constitution that declares all people to be created equal can no longer allow sexual identity to be the last bastion of bigotry and discrimination in public policy-making. The personal views of private individuals can no longer be allowed to dictate public policy for us all. Lt. Dan Choi is a decorated soldier, a West Point graduate, and a master Arabic linguist who just happens to also be gay. He is a man who tried to live and speak his truth, and for his efforts he was punished. Is this really the kind of service member we want to be “firing” right now? Is this freedom? Is this justice? How is this an example of American Democracy? I for one am left with more questions than answers when I attempt to wrap my brain around the clear injustice being committed against this man and other GLBT service members, as well as the harm that is being done to our military in losing high caliber soldiers. It is time to end the practice of separate but equal once and for all in every American public and private institution. As ultra-conservative Senator Barry Goldwater once said, “You don't have to be straight to be in the military; you just have to be able to shoot straight.” Perhaps someone should have explained that to Bill Clinton in 1993, and perhaps someone should explain it to President Obama now.