Admission of Gays to the Military: A Singularly Intolerant Act
Abstract
The United States armed forces are in the process of drawing down. There appears to be a national consensus in support of this drawdown, a broad realization that it is one of the tough choices needing to be made if we are to get at our difficult domestic challenges. It appears likely, however, that the American military and, indeed, all American citizens are on the verge of embroilment in what may ultimately prove to be an even more difficult challenge than that of force reduction. It will question our nation's values, beliefs, and societal norms. It will challenge us as a people and define us as an organized society. In fact, it threatens to divide the nation. This challenge is the integration of avowed homosexuals into the force. The broad domestic conflict of which the homosexual issue is only a part is often described as a cultural war, and sometimes even a cultural civil war. It is being fought now, as it has been fought over the past generation, on a number of fronts. James Carville, the media consultant for President Clinton, said that the 1992 election was about "the economy, stupid!" And indeed, according to a number of exit polls, the economy may have been the deciding factor. It would be a mistake, however, to conclude that economic issues are always paramount. In the United States, politics often divides Americans along cultural lines too -- along lines of region, race, ethnicity, religion, and personal values. The military services, never immune to the spillover effects of society's cultural divisions, may now confront the intractable problem of homosexual integration. In the present article, we shall argue against such a policy.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 1993
- Accession Number
- ADA515744
Entities
People
- Joseph C. Myers
- R. D. Adair
Organizations
- United States Army War College