There's a pretty good history of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" in Wikipedia. At the time it was enacted in 1993, it sounded like a pretty good compromise, about as much of a concession as the Clinton Administration could eke out at the time. I was surprised that even Barry Goldwater came out against the persecution of homosexuals by our military forces. I disagreed with his political philosophy, but I had always thought he was a man of integrity - he proved it in his courageous stand on this issue.

In practice, "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" didn't seem to be a change in policy at all. Somehow, military leaders continued to discharge gay members, and I can't imagine all those members were reporting themselves to be gay. The military may have found loopholes to allow them to continue their witch hunt, but I sure think they violated the spirit of the policy.

And as I said in the previous thread, it was a nasty job to have to inquire about sexual orientation if the matter came up in a security clearance investigation. I hated having to do that, so I did it as gently and discreetly as I possibly could. Still, it made for some very awkward situations.

I am so glad that this legislation has finally taken our government out of the business of tracking down gay people.

I think this calls for a song:


LET'S KEEP IT STRAIGHT
words and music by John McCutcheon

With the election of Bill Clinton I lamented the end of 12 solid years of great raw material. Little did I know how rich the motherlode of foolishness was...

I left home for boot camp the day I turned eighteen
It was ten weeks of hell, but I made a Marine
Stationed at Cherry Point when the call came to war
I was eager to go it's what I was trained for
So I shipped out to Dubai with the Hundred and First
And, though we never saw action, we knew ten times worse
In bone-chilling danger we lived every day
We found one of the guys in our unit was gay

Chorus A

Let's keep it straight when you carry a gun
It's not what you do, boys, it's just who you've done
The fate of our nation, it's power and might
Depend on who soldiers might sleep with at night

On patrol in the jungle, my buddies and I
Came upon, to our horror, the village, Mi Lai
Midst the dead and the dying we heard one old man say
"They came and they killed, but, thank God, they weren't gay!"

Chorus A

Bridge:

We work in your office, we teach in your schools
We pray in your churches, we live by the rules
We win your elections, we die in your wars
Who we choose to love is no business of yours

All alone on the street in the quickening night
Miles from home as my heart fills with fright
No place for a woman to be out this way
There's a man in the shadows, God, I hope that he's gay!

Chorus B:

Our leaders and generals all carry on,
"We need separate showers and barracks and johns"
Men frightened of men, I just laugh through my tears
To think it's what women have gone through for years

Chorus A

Tag:

I guess I misunderstood when I saw on TV,
"Join Today's Army, be all you can be"

©1993 John McCutcheon/Appalsongs (ASCAP).

Source: http://www.folkmusic.com/lyrics/lets-keep-it-straight