DADT

President Obama signed the Don't Ask, Don't Tell repeal today. It is law. This is a wonderful day.

There is one thing that has bothered me throughout this entire battle. DADT has been seen as a discriminatory, evil piece of legislation. And yes, it was discriminatory. I am beyond excited that it is no more. I have many gay friends who are currently serving in the military and I have been following this fight, doing what I can, since the beginning. However, at the time it was first implemented Don't Ask Don't Tell was supported by the gay community. It was essential to our well-being.

During World War II if a psychiatrist examined a member of the military and determined they were homosexual they could be court-martialed, imprisoned and dishonorably discharged. Homosexuals could be committed to military prisons. It could be included in initial questioning on military applications. "Name, Address, Age, Have you ever participated in sodomy?" When Clinton became president he planned to make it legal for gays to serve, however he could not get the support required so he compromised on DADT. Compromise has built this country. Compromise is what democracy is built on.

DADT was enacted in support of homosexual rights and freedoms. Throughout history we have compromised. That is the only way a democracy can survive. When determining the distribution of taxes and such the government of 1787 compromised on 3/5 of slaves counting toward the population. Only 3/5 of a black person was actually considered human. The state of Maine exists because of something called the Missouri Compromise which was based around legalization of slavery. DADT was another compromise in our history. A compromise that was completely necessary for the safety of our gay military personel. I am proud to live in a country where DADT is considered a bad thing. I am proud that we have progressed so much in the last two decades that it is no longer a necessary compromise. However, when looking at things like gay marriage and religious rights I believe it is important to remember the history of DADT. In a few short years many will wonder what the big deal was. Why didn't we always allow gays in the military? Why didn't women always have the right to vote? Why were we ever concerned with a white man marrying a black woman? Why was slavery ever legal? And we'll be facing another civil rights battle, feeling as though things will never change. This is proof. Things can change.

I was on cloud 9 as I watched Obama pick up that pen. I am beyond excited that this piece of history is finally just that... history. But I feel as though in order to get this repeal people have forgotten the important role DADT served. DADT made it possible for thousands upon thousands of people to be in the military that never could have been before. DADT was good legislation. It was the best we could do. It was like a baby blanket, essential to us as children. But now we have grown past it. We should be proud that we had a policy like DADT, and prouder still that we have been able to pack it in the closet with the rest of our childhood toys.

Christians and the Pagans

My family is one of the most diverse that I know. We have creationists and Darwinists. We have devout Christians, and tattooed Pagans, bikers and Baptists. We have Democrats, Republicans and Libertarians. We literally have one of nearly any path you could choose.

Every year I feel bombarded by the "Merry Christmas vs. Happy Holiday's" debate and news articles about stolen nativity sets. The holidays seem to bring bigger and bigger conflict with each passing season. People debate whether or not it is "politically correct" to wish someone a Merry Christmas. I live in an area with an extremely large Muslim community, and conflicts are never ending anyway, but they seem worse around the holidays.

Every Christmas morning my family has a big breakfast. We have done this for as long as I can remember. Someone says a Christian prayer and those of us who aren't Christian bow our heads respectfully and acknowledge our own dieties during that time. We have never had a Christmas morning conflict. No one ends up screaming their religious beliefs. We don't discuss politics. We all just join together and find common ground around a breakfast table. We serve two different kinds of bacon because some members of the family don't eat pork. We serve coffee, tea, juice, water, soda, milk... am I missing anything there? We accomodate everyone as much as possible. We compromise. We are a family.

My family may have conflicting religious beliefs, and we may have differing world views but we share the same morals and we all have the ability to respect others. Every Christmas morning Christians and Pagans sit together and find common ground at my parent's house. My sister's golden cross glistens right beside my brother's silver pentacle as we all laugh together at the breakfast table.

Call Me Old-Fashioned...

I love handwritten things. Yesterday I sent a birthday card to my cousin, and three postcards to friends. These are friends I talk to online quite often, but I still need to occasionally send handwritten things to them. I have recipe cards that are covered in oil and bits of sugar and I cherish them because they are in my grandmother's handwriting.

I especially love my handwritten journal. I have 5 blogs, a livejournal, facebook, twitter, myspace (though I haven't signed on there in months... who really uses myspace these days?) I still keep a paper journal. I keep it with me always. I pull it out when I feel alone, when I feel talkative and no one is around to listen. I pull it out when I need comfort, when I need a shoulder. I pull it out when I want to remember to tell someone something, or when I have a blog idea. Somewhere in it there is an entry that says "write about how much you like handwritten things".

I wrote in my journal as a very young child. I have every journal I have owned since middle school. I keep them in the trunk my grandmother gave me. The trunk her belongings were sent home in when she returned from Germany just before she found out she was pregnant with my father. She gave me the trunk years ago when I promised to help her move. I still have the travel tags from it, though you can't read them anymore.

I have kept notes friends sent me in high school, middle school. I have a note my dad gave me with a pair of earrings he gave me for Christmas when I was 13. I don't have the earrings anymore, but I have that note. I have the tags off of the last Christmas present my grandmother gave me. I literally have totes of sentimental scraps of paper covered in words handwritten by my loved ones.

I love the shapes of handwritten letters. I love the slight imperfections. I admire beautiful lettering done by hand. I love how it feels to run a pen across a piece of paper. I write sometimes when there is nothing to write about, just to see the letters on the paper.

Am I old-fashioned? Maybe... but if I must, I alone will keep the paper industry in business...

Just a Word on Don't Ask, Don't Tell

People offer many reasons why we shouldn't repeal Don't Ask, Don't Tell but there is one "reason" that I want to call out. I have heard it time and time again and it is not a valid reason to be against gays in this military.

"I don't want the guy in the foxhole with me looking at my ass."

This is NOT a valid reason to be against repealing DADT.

This is complete bull.

Three reasons I feel this way:

1) If you're in a foxhole under enemy fire and you are worrying about whether or not the guy next to you is looking at your ass, YOU have just become the issue. You are the one being unprofessional because in the middle of a war you're focused on your own ass, instead of the asses of the enemy.

2) Are you offended when a women you don't find attractive checks you out? I am a lesbian, but that doesn't mean I am incapable of working with straight men. Don't ask, Don't tell also prohibits lesbians from serving in the military. Do you have a problem with that? They certainly aren't looking at your ass!

3) And my last problem with this is he is NOT looking at you. Trust me. I know a lot of gay guys. I have yet to hear this defense from a man any one of them would find attractive.

If you are so incredibly shallow that you think every gay man you encounter is hitting on you, I don't want you serving in the army that protects me. I find it hard to believe you can protect me if you are so self-obsorbed.

Give me all the reasons you want that gays shouldn't be openly serving in the military. But to tell me you are worried someone will be looking at your ass is NOT a valid reason. And it just makes me think you're an idiot.