In Chambliss’s view, two things will happen if service members start admitting they are gay. First, morale, order and discipline will suffer. Second: locusts. Okay, he didn’t say locusts. But he did say that “alcohol use, adultery, fraternization and body art” would soon follow. I find this assertion particularly shocking, since I have never heard of people in the military drinking beer or getting tattoos.
There is no better exemplar of the schizophrenia of the “don’t ask, don’t tell” culture than the positions of John and Cindy McCain. In Tuesday’s hearing, John McCain rose to defend current military policy, claiming potential damage to “unit cohesion.” Meanwhile, on the other side of the country, his wife recently joined a publicity campaign in support of gay marriage. And here’s the crazy thing: These two positions are not mutually exclusive in modern America. You can support gay people’s right to get married, and still insist they don’t talk about it…
CBS is comfortable reporting about gay people and noting that sometimes they even get married. It just doesn’t want you to think about how they move down the path from single to married. (Wait — it involves dating? And kissing?)
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