Both this morning's paper and aol (link here) carried the story on General Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff about his support of the Clinton-era "don't ask don't tell" policy on gays in the military. However, when asked, he said the reason he supports it is that that homosexual acts are "immoral" and "akin to a member of the military having an affair with the spouse of another service member." Interesting analogy. The General goes on to say that during his "upbringing" he was taught that certain types of conduct are immoral.......... and that, apparently, is that.
Not wanting to start a debate over homosexuality, i find it incredulous, that with the daily scandals pertaining to our military about inadequate care for veterans, and the shambles at Walter Reed, this is what our military leaders have chosen to pick as their raison d'etre. Of course, this all comes on the heels of the resignations of Francis Harvey, secretary of the Army and Lt. General Kevin Kiley, the Army's Surgeon General. I think it is time we picked leaders who were going to lead, not going to let us down. Leaders who will focus on the real issues, like caring for the brave men and women who were wounded and broken in wars.
It is especially ironic to me that this comment appeared in the news today, the day that we are launching the Military Assistance Program here in Conn, and at our agency. This program, mentioned in an earlier post, (the meaning of a misheberach) will attempt to help our vets returning from Iraq and Afghanistan re-adjust to life in the world post-war. And they need lots of help. If you have been following, while Walter Reed Hosp. does offer some of the finest inpatient care of any hospital in the world, (a story NOT carried when they speak of "the scandal") its outpatient care, like those all over the country was attrocious. We are now all trying to fix it. The military has field units on the front lines the provide emergency mental health services. The creation new, supportive programs to vets, will also go a long way to provide better, and more immediate care to those in need. In the meantime, I think we need to worry less about gays in the military, and more about those soldiers, gay or not, who need our help.
3 comments:
An AOL News poll showed nearly 271,000 votes as of 1:45pm EDT. The margin is two to one in favor of SUPPORT for General Pace's comments regarding gays in the military.
How do you feel about Pace's comments?
Agree 65% (~176,000)
Disagree 33%
Not sure 3%
Total Votes: 270,644
I applaud General Peter Pace for taking the correct stand on this matter. His comments are right on target. There is NO REASON for him to apologize to anyone. His personal beliefs are his own and NO ONE need apologize for their personal beliefs. While I agree that he should be loving and respectful in his statements and (more importantly) actions, being forced to accept and celebrate the choice of homosexual behavior is NOT something anyone should be confronted with -- military or civilian.
These gay advocacy groups need to sit down and shut up! There is NOTHING "outrageous" or "insensitive" in what General Pace said in the interview. I listened to part of his comments. He was soft-spoken and respectful, but also firm in his resolve. Pace answered one question with a very straightforward and truthful answer, "The US Military’s mission fundamentally rests on the trust, confidence, cooperation amongst its members, and the homosexual lifestyle does not comport with that kind of trust and confidence and therefore is not supported within the US military. I’ll leave it at that."
Homosexuality *is* an immoral act. It is NOT natural, normal or moral. The lifestyle choice is rife with promiscuity, predatorship and infidelity -- all matters that point to trust, confidence and cooperation. General Pace should be applauded for standing his ground and speaking the truth.
I, personally, plan to be active in the fight against these homosexual advocacy groups as they seek to villainize General Pace. Here's hoping you will join the fight as well. It's high time conservatives (especially Christians) stand up for our beliefs and convictions.
Charlie, I think you said it best when you said "his personal beliefs are his own." They should have stayed that way.
I do however, appreciate your point of view.
Charlie, I'm too young to have first hand knowledge, but wasn't there an uproar over racial integration of the military after WWII? Seems that many people (most of them conservative and Christian, go figure) considered this kind of integration unnatural, too. Immoral? Your bigotry is immoral.
God bless this wonderful country and all the men and women of our former, current and future armed forces, of whatever race, creed, ethnicity, or sexual orientation, who have fought and will continue to fight for our freedoms.
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