Not one to follow issues of the Graduate Leadership Council very closely, I was surprised to see that legislation had been passed on Wednesday, Oct. 5, which would effectively ban military recruiters from the AU campus, based on the "discriminatory" policies of the US military toward those who are openly gay. I was even more surprised to find that, in the listserv email that outlined this legislation, a reference was made to the fact that "there was almost an even split of those in favor of such a ban, and those against". I decided to have a look for myself at the Blackboard discussion on the issue and was surprised to find that a mere five people had posted comments on this issue. After reading the discussion I felt it was imperative that I weigh in on the argument.
I must first say that, not having served in the military in no way excludes one from opining on military policy that affects the direction of this country. In addition, it is vital that we as students hold our government accountable. Thomas Jefferson once remarked, "Dissent is the highest form of patriotism". However, as a person who served for eight years in the United States Marine Corps under numerous commands and with thousands of fellow Marines, I feel I may be able to offer some insight into this discussion.
Let me state for the record that during my entire eight years in the Marine Corps, I never witnessed, either implicitly or explicitly, any action, from any one in any position of authority that could be construed as anti-gay. It is certainly true that many in the military are against openly gay people serving, and there will always be ignorant comments made by people, no matter which organization you examine. However, no openly anti-gay actions were taken against any Marine I ever served with and, most importantly, there was never any officially ordered conduct directed towards gays.ÿ
To say that the military is discriminatory towards gays is, at best, a misunderstanding of the way our military operates and, at worst, a disingenuous indictment of an institution that has a history of leading the nation in such progressive actions as racial integration. Let me take just a minute to explain why the "Don't ask, don't tell" policy is in effect. The military, unlike most other organization that come to a job fair on the AU campus, does not operate on a nine to five schedule. If you take a job at IBM and do not like the way they are treating you, or do not like your co-workers, you are free to quit and find a job elsewhere. Never would the people at IBM ask you to shower and bunk with your coworkers, day in and day out, and IBM would certainly not ask you to man a fighting hole with one of your coworkers. I have been in fighting holes myself for as long as twenty-two days at a time with the same Marines. I say this to illustrate the fact that the military isÿnot your average employer. The military is a communal institution (not Communist - don't be confused) and within communal institutions, a certain amount of individualism must be sacrificed to promote the welfare of the unit. Samuel Huntington, in his book, The Soldier and the State, illustrates it this way, "Success in any activity requires the subordination of the will of the individual to the will of the group. Tradition, esprit, unity, community - these rate high in the military value system". If you are gay and want to serve in our military, by all means please sign up. Our country would be well served by your patriotic actions, however, leave your sexual orientation issues at the door because the military has the sole mission of fighting and winning wars and anything that would compromise that mission will not, and cannot, be tolerated. It has precious little to do with discrimination my friend.
On a side note, women are also not allowed in all units of the military. It has nothing to do with your rights or their rights, and nothing to do with such things as physical ability. It has everything to do with maintaining a spirit of discipline and perpetuating a high morale among Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines who live and die by a code of sacrificing some of the "rights" they enjoyed as civilians. Some of you may not like to hear this, but then again, it's easy to sit in the hallowed halls of American University and pass judgment on an organization, when those judgments have precious little effect on your everyday lives. Hey, you'll get your degree, the important thing is to show those "idiots" in the White House that we're "progressive" over here at AU, right? Sounds like cutting off your nose to spite your face if you ask me.
Now to those Graduate Senators who enacted this piece of legislation, let me simply say that your actions have done nothing to ameliorate the unfortunate discrimination many gays face in this country. Your actions have only served to weaken an institution that provides you with the freedoms you enjoy. I will not impugn your patriotism, however, I feel you should take some time to rethink whether your decision to ban recruiters from our campus truly serves the purposes you hope to achieve. Sir William Francis Butler once remarked, "The nation that will insist on drawing a broad line of demarcation between the fighting man and the thinking man is liable to have its fighting done by fools and its thinking done by cowards". His words are important to ponder as we debate kicking recruiters off our campuses.ÿ
Semper Fi.
Wyatt Busbee is a second year graduate student in the School of International Service.
