Today I am drawn to two seemingly separate and unrelated news headlines. One reads: “Pope Benedict XVI has been accused of failing to act on complaints from two archbishops in the US about a priest who allegedly abused 200 deaf boys.” The other reads: “Defense Secretary Gates eases ban on gays in the military”.
As a policy buff and political commentator, I am always interested in the debate surrounding Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell (DADT) and the Obama administration’s commitment to repealing it. As a devout Catholic and Christian, I am concerned about the church’s credibility as an institution and the vulnerability and exploitation of young boys and girls in its care. As a responsible citizen of the world, I am constantly engaging in questions of what is right, what is wrong, what is fit to be judged and what is fit to be censured. As I read these headlines and come to understand the issues underlying them, I see how the two have far more in common than I realized.
Why is the American military power structure so afraid of allowing gays to serve openly? Could it be that much like the Catholic priesthood has been a place where many closeted gays have hidden for years, the American military is a breeding ground for closeted homosexuals?
WATCH EDWARDS W. WILLIAMS DISCUSS DON’T ASK DON’T TELL ON MSNBC
Many young men have entered the priesthood, as an attempt to atone for their perceived original sin: the “thorn in their sides” as Saint Paul so poignantly put it. They join in hopes that service, commitment and devotion to the faith will help save or cleanse them. They are optimistic that by denying their natural same-sex attraction, God will change them by removing the desire altogether, or reward them for refusing to indulge in what they were taught is “unnatural.”
The American military sells a different kind of religion: a new kind of faith, and a separate peace. Patriotism and self-sacrifice become the way to purification and redemption. The pursuit and achievement of a masculine ideal redeems the “weak” and justifies the sacrifice. Sometimes the truth makes everything seem like a lie: which is perhaps the reason why “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” remains the status quo. By encouraging gays to lie about who they are, the American military can continue to deny the truth that there are far more gays among them than they’d like to admit.
WATCH SECRETARY GATES DISCUSS REVISIONS TO DON’T ASK DON’T TELL ENFORCEMENT HERE:
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The truth of the matter is the ban on gays in the military remains intact because of fear. Fear of the truth which could re-define perceptions of homosexuality in American society. Rambo and G.I. Joe as gay icons undermine the idea that all gays are deviant old men in a robe touching our sons, or feminine young boys who secretly want to wear dresses.
Though technically, our Constitution outlines a separation of Church and State, our society has never lent itself fully to that divide. And so we struggle with policy inflected by religion. America, even in a post-Will & Grace Era, still hold tightly to Judeo-Christian ideologies which are often discriminatory and outdated. To see and accept a strong, brave, moral protector, who happens to be gay, would create a new lexicon on the dialogue around masculinity and sexuality. And it doesn’t only apply to males. To accept a strong woman who uses her brain as well as her gun, whilst writing love letters to her wife and children at home, would challenge the dated ideas on gender roles and what constitutes a “real” woman. The military, if it is truly the home of the brave, must accept that gay men and women have been protecting our democratic ideals, giving their lives on its behalf, suffering on the fields, shedding their tears, choking on their own blood. They do it despite the lie, which if revealed, could make us all truly free.
Secretary Gates’ efforts today are a step in the right direction. The relaxed laws are not a moratorium on the DADT policy, but an acknowledgment that the policy is flawed. America should not, and cannot, afford to be spending millions investigating patriots who happen to love differently, whilst constantly facing their own mortality on behalf of our democracy.
Likewise, the Catholic church can no longer survive without addressing its own flawed morality. These questions are important and these nuances must not be overlooked. What does it mean to be a true patriot? What does it mean to be truly moral? Let us reach toward the ‘oughtness’ which forever confronts us: One nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.
