It may not be something that is in the minds of most of the public, but today, September 20th, has been a date
on my mind for these last two months. It is a day long hoped for, long worked for, and dreamed of by many. It is a day when thousands of military service members are able to continue that service with honor. It is a day when hundreds who have been facing removal from the military for their sexual orientation can know that their cases are not going to go forward. It is a day when a young person who is Gay, Lesbian, or Bi-sexual who feels called to join the military does not have to hide their sexual orientation in order to follow that call.
And yet to me, today, September 20th, 2011… the day that the policy known as Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, Don’t Harass, Don’t Pursue is officially repealed within the U.S. Military… to me this is not a date to celebrate.
Now, though I have not been able to be overtly public about it, I think most people know that I not only am happy to see this discriminatory policy repealed, I am a part of several organizations who have been actively involved both in the repeal, as well as implementing the repeal. I assisted my commander in the DADT Repeal trainings necessary for the unit I served in Michigan.
In October, I will be speaking with a few other colleagues on Professionalism, Pluralism, and the Military Chaplaincy at the Outserve Conference in Las Vegas, as that organization comes further out into the public sphere. Our goal with the workshop is to help LGB service members engage with chaplains who may not be comfortable with their sexual orientation, hoping to transform their hearts and minds. But that conference is more about where we go from here, not about celebrating.
I have three reasons why this, for me, is not a day of celebration. The first is that, for most of my soldiers and other service members, today is a non-event. Many LGB service members have been “out” to their units for some time. Most of the younger service members I have met have known Gay, Lesbian, and Bi-sexual people their whole lives… and so serving with them in the military is a non-issue. In my experience, most of the service members who have a problem serving with LGB persons are either senior officers and NCO’s who entered the military from a different cultural understanding… or Chaplains. And not all Chaplains either… a point I hope to make to the Military LGB community by attending the Outserve Conference.
So, I don’t want to contribute to making this “an event” when for most of my soldiers it is not. Now, someone cannot be prosecuted under the UCMJ (Uniform Code of Military Justice) simply for being gay… that is as it should be. It is not an “achievement”… it is a return to decency, sanity, and equality. It is the minimum we can do… and I don’t know about you, but I do not want to “celebrate” achieving the minimum.
Because, and this is my second point… there is still so much left to do. The Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) still means that LGB military families cannot receive the same benefits or access as heterosexual families. DOMA also means that military chaplains cannot perform wedding ceremonies for LGB persons… even in states where Marriage Equality has been achieved.
To equate this to a Football metaphor… the Repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell is a “First Down”, not a “Touch Down”… and it is certainly not the game. We still have work to do…
And that brings me to the third reason why I do not want to “celebrate” today, and that is that I don’t want to give the media any more fodder than we have to, for their desire to portray this as more than it really is. Like all the coverage that said that the election of a black man to the Presidency of the United States meant racism was over, I do not want to be part of feeding a perception that we have achieved equality in the military. Far from it. I actually believe that over the last 20 years we’ve taken some steps backwards on equality in the military, and that we have work to do. A lot of work… and the media has, for the most part, been unhelpful.
The media’s desire for the sensational has led to all military chaplains being portrayed as reactionary homophobes… so much so that I have to actively dispel that perception with my soldiers if I expect them to talk to me. It has led to the perception that all soldiers suffering from PTSD are out of control and violent, so much so that I have talked to churches who were concerned about inviting such “violent people” into their midst (across many denominations). It has led to perceptions that the military is uniformly conservative Christian, something that could not be further from the truth.
So, I am concerned about how such “celebrations” of the repeal of DADT will be portrayed by a media seeking the sensational, and wanting to portray this as “a great victory that solves all problems of inequality in the military”. I am concerned the coverage will make it far more difficult to motivate and organize around further change, and will publicize any outlandish behavior by any military service members anywhere…
And, let’s not forget… it would not take much for a new congress to reinstate “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”… or worse.
So, let’s do a quick High-Five… and get back into the game.
Yours in faith,
Rev. David
David, I so appreciate getting a military person’s perspective from you. I can’t gainsay that point of view. I can only speak as a civilian, and as someone who cannot expect the minimum in many states in her country, and explain why I am celebrating.
It is not an “achievement”… it is a return to decency, sanity, and equality. It is the minimum we can do… and I don’t know about you, but I do not want to “celebrate” achieving the minimum.
I do. I most certainly do. There are still too many cases of LGBT people not having the minimum. Hospitals maintain that they don’t have to allow them visits from their chosen partners; states claim that they can terminate their parental rights; when they’re murdered, the courts make excuses for their killers. And you can bet I celebrate every single case of those, because they make an enormous difference in someone’s life, including, potentially, mine.
Not to sound cynical, but when I look around I see that decency, sanity, and equality are often in short supply, so their reinstatement is worthy of celebration wherever it occurs.
To your third point: I agree in your criticism of the media, but I don’t think the media’s hype requires that the rest of us act as if a big deal is no big deal. Taking the DADT situation as analogous, it seems you would argue that should not celebrate the election of a black man as US President. And despite the fact that racism is far from vanquished, I am still thrilled and amazed that the United States gave a landslide victory to a black man. It’s a better, more just country than I thought it was, and that is worth celebrating.
Which I suppose brings me to my major point of disagreement with you, regarding your second point about how far we have to go. Don’t I know it. The road to total justice is a long and rocky one, and none of us is going to get there in our lifetimes. If we don’t celebrate the small victories along the way, we will have no celebrations at all, and without them we have little heart for the journey.
My community organizing professors taught me, “After every action, have a party.” Never mind if all you did was move the ball a few inches up the field. Or get a runner on first. (I prefer the baseball analogy, both because it’s more accurate than “first down”–first down is your starting point, and we are farther along than a starting point–and because I like baseball better than football.) The point is that people need to take some time to be glad, especially people who face a grim fight like getting their marriage recognized before they die.
The media, in this case, might be like the guys who wore white tie and rented limousines for our junior high graduation party. They were being ridiculous (though, hey, maybe it was the last graduation they expected to have . . . ) but that was no reason for others of us not to celebrate in our own modest way.
Meant to add:
So, let’s do a quick High-Five… and get back into the game
I agree completely. 🙂
Amy,
Thank you for your thoughtful post…
I too have heard that theory in community organizing… to have a “party” every time you achieve about anything… and I don’t believe it. I believe it feeds a form of social activism that is very fragile, and is focused on the ends and not on the ideals.
This could and should probably be a whole ‘nother article… but let me see if I can put it clearly. I think we need to move away from “Ends based Social Activism” and move towards centering social activism as a spiritual practice. Ends based social activism centers the source of meaning in achievement, and leads to significant disillusionment when said ends are not achieved. Countless times I’ve been in counseling with activists over the results of ends not achieved.
Also, it means activists tend to magnify the results of “ends” when they occur, because they want to feel the most meaning they can from an accomplishment. When that occurs, you see people also step away from the practice of activism, because they have “won, and now want to enjoy the spoils”.
Just compare the 2008 and the 2010 elections and you will see my point. And the results of ends-based social activism will have profound impact on our country for years to come in that election.
We need to get away from thinking about the ends when we seek to discern the meaning of our social activism, and move towards centering social activism as a part of our spiritual practices…
Yours in faith,
David
I’m a Chaplain with the British Army and think your piece is really insightful. Keep up the good work and we’re watching the game very closely this side of the pond!
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