VIDEO TRANSCRIPT========================================================(Lindsey Graham) Hey Rambo... why the long face...
(John Rambo) I have low morale and no unit cohesion
LG: Are you tired of the multiple back to back deployments?
JR: No
LG: are you suffering from P T S D?
JR: No
LG: Is it that you are mired in a pointless war against an invisible enemy wherein you are risking your life to bring western style democracy to a people stuck in the bronze age who will revert to fundamentalist Islam as soon as your country goes bankrupt and is forced to admit defeat like every other empire has before?
JR: No
LG: Is it jock itch?
JR: I think there is a gay in my squad
LG: This sounds serious... are you sure?
JR: I am not. But there are signs
LG: Doesn't he laugh nervously at the many overtly homo erotic jokes your drill instructor tells.. such as make your buddy smile, or when he calls you ladies?
JR: Not at all
LG: Does he keep dropping his soap in the showers?...
JR: No, not in a suggestive way
LG: Has he tried to give you any kind of make over? Has he tried to put his round in your chamber?
JR: Nope
LG: Then, what makes you think that he has the gay?
JR: He reads books, he can talk muslimese, he wears eye glasses, he hates speed metal music, and his fingernails are always clean
LG: This is damaging evidence but
JR: He did not vote for Sarah Palin!
LG: Case closed.....
Two weeks ago, When SecDef Gates and Admiral Mullen announced that the DOD would be forming a group to study the elimination of Don't Ask Don't Tell, it was hardly a surprise to see the major talking heads on both sides of the political dividing line clamoring for camera time regarding this issue. Conservatives all seemed to claim that this would destroy morale and "effect unit cohesion". Liberals spent just as much time denying that this could be true.
As a fairly liberal person, I automatically take what I hear from the likes of Boehner, Graham & McCain with a huge grain of salt. As a former combat medic in an infantry battalion (C Co. 3rd Bn/7th Inf) I know that there is a bit of truth in what the republicans were saying. When you consider the the military is a microcosm of American society then you have to accept that, just as in society at large, there are some in the military who will not accept that homosexuality is a fact of life and that they must learn to live with this fact. So, yes, when Col. Lindsey Graham USAF says that allowing gays and lesbians to serve openly will result in morale issues, we have to accept that there is some truth in his statement. What we cannot accept, however, is his claim that the gay service member is the source of this problem.
The military is not a democracy, as a service member, you do not get a vote. You are always subordinate to the mission and your preferences are not considered. You cannot refuse to fulfill your mission because it's too cold or too hot. You do what you're told whether or not you like the food, the accommodations or the travel arrangements. You cannot quit your post because you don't want to serve with a Jew, a Puerto Rican, a Filipino, or an African American. This is your second general order: "I will obey my special orders and perform all of my duties in a military manner." In a MILITARY MANNER, not the "manner with which I'm most comfortable". If you're looking for the cause of the morale problem, it's the soldier doing the complaining; he rarely confines his griping to one subject, nothing makes him stop, and there's nobody the squad wishes would go away more than him.
So, the average soldier, marine, etc. is stuck between these two entities. On one side is the gay serviceman or woman. Despite the adversity, they have chosen to serve their country. They selflessly volunteer to spend a big chunk of their youth in a military whose leadership may not appreciate their service or even acknowledge their existence. Controlled by a faceless bureaucracy which demands that they hide their true selves as if it was something to be ashamed of. All so they can serve their country. Keep in mind that all of those Arabic translators who have been kicked out could have easily worked for private contractors, earning six figure salaries, without the hassles of a military enlistment. They sign up knowing that their chain of command will probably include the same homophobes they have had to deal with their entire lives. They ask for no special treatment or accommodation. All they ask is to be allowed to willingly endure all of these things in exchange for the chance to serve.
On the other side are the ones doing the complaining. Whether they claim to be morally superior or whether they just plain don't like gay people, they will make their views known. They will gripe and complain. They will take pot shots and may even become physically abusive. They will demand that the squad, platoon, etc. take sides. They will spread discord and disruption. They will endanger thier mission and their fellow soldiers and they will do it simply because they are malcontents. I have met these soldiers. When there were no gays, they complained about the blacks and when there were no blacks, they complained about the browns. I have met these people and the last thing I could say about them was that they were there to serve.
Of these two, nobody could possibly mistake which one is better for the unit and which is not.
While this soldier is very rare, most members of the military probably know of one or two complainers- there are fewer of them than there are gays and lesbians. We also know that under no circumstances would the military create, modify or continue any policy to just to appease the complainer. No circumstance, that is, except for this one: the completely illogical policy that forbids gays and lesbians from serving openly. Before Gates and Mullen finally denounced this flawed policy, the complainer was presented as the sole reason for its existence. We could never allow gays and lesbians to serve openly because it give the complainers a reason to demoralize and tear apart the unit.
If and when word comes from the top brass that gays and lesbians are now able to serve openly, the vast majority of the armed forces will accept it as law and will deal with it without much effort. After that, the only hold-outs will be the few remaining complainers and some conservative politicians such as McCain and Boehner and Col. Lindsey Graham USAF. Only they will understand why they continue to disrespect those who only want to serve and praise those who will only serve on their own terms.
VIDEO TRANSCRIPT========================================================
(Lindsey Graham) Hey Rambo... why the long face...
(John Rambo) I have low morale and no unit cohesion
LG: Are you tired of the multiple back to back deployments?
JR: No
LG: are you suffering from P T S D?
JR: No
LG: Is it that you are mired in a pointless war against an invisible enemy wherein you are risking your life to bring western style democracy to a people stuck in the bronze age who will revert to fundamentalist Islam as soon as your country goes bankrupt and is forced to admit defeat like every other empire has before?
JR: No
LG: Is it jock itch?
JR: I think there is a gay in my squad
LG: This sounds serious... are you sure?
JR: I am not. But there are signs
LG: Doesn't he laugh nervously at the many overtly homo erotic jokes your drill instructor tells.. such as make your buddy smile, or when he calls you ladies?
JR: Not at all
LG: Does he keep dropping his soap in the showers?...
JR: No, not in a suggestive way
LG: Has he tried to give you any kind of make over? Has he tried to put his round in your chamber?
JR: Nope
LG: Then, what makes you think that he has the gay?
JR: He reads books, he can talk muslimese, he wears eye glasses, he hates speed metal music, and his fingernails are always clean
LG: This is damaging evidence but
JR: He did not vote for Sarah Palin!
LG: Case closed.....
JR: If I am forced to fight beside him I will probably let my unit down be cause of my intolerance
LG: Your fellow soldier sounds like an intelligent person of above average integrity who has volunteered to risk his life for a country that treats him as a second class citizen and refuses to afford him the same standing as any straight member of society. He has chosen to serve in the only western military that refuses to respect his rights as a human or even his very existence as a gay soldier. He has chosen to fight and possibly die along side others even though they might hate him simply for what he is. And he has consciously chosen to lay down his life for his beliefs without regard for his personal interests or comfort. He is the living embodiment of the ideals which we try to project to the world and which are the very foundation of our country.
[uncomfortable pause]
LG: You, on the other hand, represent a tiny fraction of those wearing the uniform of the United States.. you are a selfish, narrow minded, prejudiced, self absorbed, bigot who puts his own petty fears ahead of his duty to his country, his fellow soldiers and the oath he has sworn to his country on multiple occasions, You are willing to jeopardize your mission and the safety of your brothers in arms simply because you choose not accept other human beings with whom you may disagree. You are a coward and a disgrace to your uniform. you have more in common with the fanatics who are trying to kill you than you do with any real American. You dishonor anybody who has ever given his or her life for the cause of liberty.
[uncomfortable pause]
LG: But don't worry. Obviously the uniform code of military justice and the laws of your country fully support your position and that of your incredibly small minority. If anybody ever tries to integrate anything counter to your hate filled redneck world view, we will denounce them as traitors who do not support the troops.
OK. Now that you put it that way, I don't like black people either.
LG: I will see what I can do.
