Lady Gaga Comes To Portland

Celebrities weighing in on political and social issues usually make me cringe. Just because you were the star of a sitcom or had a hit record, you now have the bully pulpit upon which you can spew your all-important views on world affairs?

Hardly.

Sometimes, these “stars” are not very well versed in the issue they claim to support or oppose. Other times, they may be educated about the pros and cons—but somehow cannot articulate those viewpoints well enough to earn credibility.

Enter Lady Gaga.

She spoke this afternoon in Portland, Maine. Taking the battle directly to the backyard of Maine’s two Republican Senators Snowe and Collins in order to enlist their support to break the filibuster of Senator McCain.

Where she falls on the credibility scale has yet to be fully experienced. Her flamboyant personality and wardrobe suggest anything but a serious “artist”, but so far, the music has held up (in the pop music world, anyway)---and she at least has been passionate in her quest to repeal the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy with regard to gays in the military.

She has inserted herself into the debate directly with Congress—and the notoriety she enjoys has helped to ramp up the grass roots action. She is articulate—and her own orientation has made her credible—if only in the eyes of those disenfranchised by a government policy that would be amusing if it didn’t exact a toll on both the individual---and our country.

Here is the video (two parts) of her appearance in Deering Oaks Park today:



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dr0_A0fIbXs



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4llUTHuNRKs



Since the same criteria for excluding gays in the military used to be used to exclude women, it seems reasonable to conclude that gay men and women should be able to serve without regard to their sexual orientation. It doesn’t really matter if you agree with homosexuality or not. It’s a matter of competence, not sexuality.

Had gays been excluded from the military is past wars—there’s no telling how many bonafide war heroes would have been relegated to the sidelines.

Why?

Is it because gays make straight soldiers uncomfortable? Do women make men feel uncomfortable? Do black soldiers make white servicemen and women uncomfortable? Does that matter? Fighting alongside people of different ethnicities has long been a non-issue. Men fighting alongside women has not proven a mistake.

The fact that straight soldiers have been fighting alongside gay soldiers since the dawn of this nation is also a non-issue---UNTIL (apparently) the straight soldier is AWARE that his or her platoon mate is gay. Somehow, this knowledge changes everything.

Huh?

So, “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” supposedly strikes a compromise. In essence, gays will not be allowed to serve their countries—UNLESS they keep their orientation a secret. Officers will not ask and recruits just won’t tell. Maybe it works well in theory, but not in practice.

Just ask David Hall who was discharged from the Air Force. Was he asked?
No.
Did he tell?
No.

A fellow soldier who discovered he was gay “outed” him—and he was then---out.
Didn’t matter that he was #1 in his class as a fighter pilot. Top Gun. Doesn’t matter that our government had spent at LEAST a couple million dollars training him. His competence doesn’t matter, not his patriotism, nor his desire to serve.

All that matters is that he is gay.

One doesn’t have to “agree” with homosexuality to fight for justice. It’s like “agreeing” with gravity. It doesn’t care whether you agree with it or not—“it” just IS.

About 10% of our population is estimated to be homosexual. To exclude such a huge portion of Americans from service is ludicrous. To do so is a disservice to our nation. Do straight soldiers fight only for the 90% of the population that shares their orientation—or maybe do they fight for ALL of America?

I don’t need a weirdo pop star like Lady Gaga to open my eyes to common sense. And she is a nut case.

But a whack-job who happens to be right on this one.

If you’d like my blog in your box, just let me know: tim.moore@citcomm.com