THE TIME TO ASK AND TELL IS NOW

It is hard to believe it was 18 years ago that Don’t Ask Don’t Tell (DADT) was first suggested by then presidential candidate Bill Clinton. It was promoted as a way to overturn the ban on gay Americans serving in the armed forces. In truth, it was a continuation of our society’s unspoken declaration that homosexuality must be a dirty little secret. The very idea that a homosexual person must hide his or her identity in order to fight on the front lines or fly life-threatening war time missions is absurd. Not unlike now, Congress in 1992 was populated mostly by older white guys all in matching suits who generally purport to be heterosexual. The law of averages tells us there are most likely several gay members of Congress, but very few people run for office waving a rainbow flag.

Still, DADT was passed and has been in place ever since. Since 1993, there have been five legal challenges to the law, but all five were unsuccessful in Federal court. Still, it is Congress that has the power to kill DADT and allow gay people to serve openly in the military. About a year and a half ago, a Washington Post/ABC News poll revealed that fully 75% of American citizens favor the repeal of DADT. If Congress works for us, it would appear we have spoken and the law is outdated and discriminatory. And get this: in the poll, 64% of Republicans favored overturning the law, along with the 80% of Democrats. That is a very strong majority.

So, why is DADT still in place? First, many elected officials do not want to touch anything that remotely regards gay rights. Although our culture has come a long way in the last 20 years, Senators and House members are always focusing on re-election, and all things gay tend to be viewed as hot button issues that could be overly divisive. You may consider that avoidance short-sighted and not fully representative of your views/needs as a citizen, but politics are politics. Second, although more than 100 retired generals and military officials have supported the ban on DADT, current military powerhouses have been reluctant to commit to overturning the law.

Even those who support the ban have not taken aggressive action. President Obama devoted exactly two sentences to overturning DADT in his recent State of the Union speech, and failed to outline a specific plan or timetable. Some months ago at the annual Human Rights Campaign dinner in Washington, D.C. he stated that the ban would be repealed, but offered no plan to do so. Meanwhile, Admiral Mike Mullen, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff finally came out in support of repealing DADT this month. Still, people in high places object. Senator Ike Skelton (D-MO), who was in on creating DADT in 1993, said this in an interview on C-SPAN: "I am personally not for changing the law.” His comments matter because he is the leading House Democrat on military policy.

Having lived long enough to see how these things go, I know that ultimately DADT will be obsolete and the law will be repealed. I don’t know when, but I feel confident it will happen. Social change that relies on governmental intervention comes slowly in our country. As recently as 1968, a law was finally passed that allowed black Americans and white Americans to get married. Still, every day that passes does so at the detriment of gay military personnel. Reportedly, the number of active duty military personnel discharged for violating the DADT policy is approximately 13,000. In the one year since Obama took office, 600 people have been discharged. Some military personnel are under investigation or awaiting a final decision on their cases. Watch:

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The only documented step toward ending the ban is The Military Readiness Enhancement Act (HR 1283), which would repeal the ban and allow gays and lesbians to serve openly. It was introduced in March, 2009 and now sits in committee. It could linger there for a very long time, but it is at least a tangible step toward justice.
Meanwhile, after Obama’s SOTU speech, here is what none other than Senator John McCain had to say:

“In his State of the Union address, President Obama asked Congress to repeal the ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ policy. I am immensely proud of, and thankful for, every American who wears the uniform of our country, especially at a time of war, and I believe it would be a mistake to repeal the policy. This successful policy has been in effect for over 15 years, and it is well understood and predominantly supported by our military at all levels. We have the best trained, best equipped, and most professional force in the history of our country, and the men and women in uniform are performing heroically in two wars. At a time when our armed forces are fighting and sacrificing on the battlefield, now is not the time to abandon the policy.”

How is this any different from the days when black citizens were not allowed to drink from the same water fountains as white citizens? How is this different from Asian or Hispanic citizens who were forced to work in sweatshops earlier in the 20th century? What distinguishes this discriminatory law from the one that outlawed women from voting until 1919? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. DADT was a mistake when it was enacted, simply because it categorized gay citizens as somehow less than straight citizens solely because of their sexuality. Did someone forget to tell the U.S. government that sexuality does not define a person? Shame on the Clinton administration for launching something that so blatantly diminishes one entire segment of the population. Shame on his successor for ignoring the issue for eight years, and shame on Barack Obama for continuing to dangle a carrot in front of the gay community, but failing to commit to serious action to end the discrimination.

MURDER AT THE HOLOCAUST MUSEUM

The murder of United States Memorial Holocaust Museum guard Steven Tyrone Johns once again shines a cultural spotlight on anti-Semitism. It is a true portrait of public resistance to multi-culturalism and social change. Consider it: James Von Brunn, an 88-year-old white anti-Semite murders a black American in cold blood at the doorstep of the world’s most comprehensive museum about the extermination of six million Jewish people. Here are the details:

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Just across town, the U.S. Congress (still mostly white and male-dominated) is set to consider the appointment of a Hispanic woman to the U.S. Supreme Court, who has been nominated by the country’s first black President. Approximately 6,328 miles from the U.S. Capital, the extremist President of Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, poised for a questionable re-election, continues to assert his belief that the Holocaust never really occurred. Meanwhile, 2,171 miles from Tehran, an alleged Nazi sadist nicknamed Ivan the Terrible, 89, is set to stand trial from the annihilation of tens of thousands of Jews during the Holocaust.

Anti-Semitism, once blatant and highly visible in this country, continues to exist, albeit in a more underground fashion than, say, 50 years ago. To mainstream media, anti-Semitism is almost considered old news. Consider the fact that after the shooting at the Holocaust Museum, there was nothing about it on the front page of the New York Times.

Then there is the case of Dennis Ross, the U.S. State Department envoy to Iran. In case you haven’t heard, Ross was relieved of his duties this week. No one seems to be able to point to any wrongdoing on his part. The buzz in Washington is that Ross is being replaced because Iranian officials never accepted him as a representative of the U.S. Ross is Jewish.

Then there is the Reverend Jeremiah Wright,(below, left) who caused such a stink during the 2008 Presidential campaign. Just last week, Wright commented about his lack of access to President Obama: "Them Jews aren't going to let him talk to me.” Once outed in the press for making the comment, Wright tried to backpedal. He issued an apology in which he explained he didn’t mean to say “Jews.” Instead, he meant to say “Zionists.” I think somebody forgot to tell the Rev that Zionists are Jews. All of this comes just a couple of years after actor Mel Gibson went on his much-publicized rant about Jews during a drunken traffic stop. From Hollywood to Washington D.C. to Tehran to Berlin, anti-Semitism is alive.

There seems to be some kind of crazy misconception in this country that when a minority population assimilates into the mainstream culture, prejudice and discrimination against that population dissipates. False. Let me break that down: Chances are, in whatever media market you live, you probably have one or more black news anchors on your local stations. I dare you to try and find a black executive with that same station. In our culture, the emphasis on diversity has largely turned into an effort to show an organization is diversified, rather than to truly diversify the decision-making team at the core of the organization. Hispanic reporters are hired by news organizations and then assigned the Hispanic community as their beat. True diversity would be to hire the Hispanic reporter because he or she is highly capable, and then allow the person to report on all aspects of society.

That being said, try not to mistake visible success within the Jewish American population as widespread acceptance of Jews in America. You can choose to think of James Von Brunn as a fringe-element, extremist nut job who just opened fire one day at the Holocaust Museum. Or, you can dig deeper and see that Von Brunn is really just a reminder of deep-rooted hatred that permeates the American culture. I can’t help wondering if the history books will mark this period in our culture as one where technology intersected with economic doldrums to galvanize haters to act out. Von Brunn maintained a hate-filled web site, just as he had been cut off from Social Security. No longer able to maintain the web site, since he was going to have to sell or pawn his computer, Von Brunn was apparently driven to make a more public statement of his hatred.

The moral of this story? Do not get too comfortable in 21st century America. Hate is still widespread, and technology offers a platform for the haters to express themselves.

Von Brunn, shot twice in the head, is expected to survive and stand trial for the murder of Steven Tyrone Johns (right). Meanwhile, the American Jewish Committee has established a memorial fund for Johns’ family. The Committee pledges that all of the funds collected will be donated to the family. Click here to donate.