Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Obama's Promise

I will be the first to admit that there is a part of me that has been a bit disillusioned with President Obama. Sometimes I feel as if my hope was misplaced.

Today however...with a stroke of many pens, President Obama kept one of his promises. Don't Ask Don't Tell is no more.

There was a conversation I had maybe a year ago while at a pub sitting next to an elderly military man. He tried to convince me that having a gay man in the foxhole next to him would make him a poor soldier because he would be worrying about what was going on inside the gay man's head. I found his entire reasoning to be so short-sighted. I cannot imagine any individual, man/woman/gay/straight sitting inside a foxhole thinking about anything other than keeping everyone alive. Maybe that was a simplistic response, but I am happy to report that when I said that, this man had no answer.

The repeal of DADT is such a victory. It means those brave individuals among us who happen to be gay *and* happen to hold such a strength of character to want to serve and protect each and every one of us as well as our daily freedoms may now do so openly.

Thank you Lt. Daniel Choi.

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