Ron Paul Says He’d Change “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”
While speaking to a group at Google, GOP presidential candidate Ron Paul expressed support for changing “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” citing the number of discharged linguists.
This should not come as a shock to folks… He’s very much a libertarian and at his core believes that what you do is your business. And while that may sound good on the surface, in this case it leads to an endorsement of behavior that is undoubtly dramatically life shortening*.
What should be our response? One of true love. One that doesn’t leave someone to their own fatal desires but helps them to overcome their problem, much like we do with alcoholism now. We used to shun drunks but now we try to get them help… as we should. That is the loving response and takes out the whole debate on whether you are born that way or not.
*A Canadian study published in 1997 by Oxford University’s International Journal of Epidemiology reported that “life expectancy at age 20 years for gay and bisexual men is 8 to 20 years less than for all men. If the same pattern of mortality were to continue, we estimate that nearly half of gay and bisexual men currently aged 20 years will not reach their 65th birthday.”
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You make a very good point about the stigmatization of homosexuals in this country. Comparing it to alcoholism is a great way to get your point across.
However, I think you are missing the point of Paul’s stance on limited government. When he says he’d change “Don’t ask Don’t Tell” he is not endorsing homosexuality. He is simply saying that it will not be controlled by the government. I don’t doubt that Paul would wholeheartedly support efforts by private sector organizations to proclaim the truth about homosexuality’s detrimental effects.
In fact, the flip-side of Paul’s libertarian stance is that the church would be free to reach out to homosexuals under a Ron Paul presidency, as opposed to hiding and cringing in fear whenever they’re threatened with revocation of tax-exempt status.
Interesting flip-side, Peter. But I think you may be giving the executive branch too much credit/power. Furthermore, the church already has the ability to reach out — they just don’t do it very often. At least they can do it for now.. however look at Canada where that right is already gone. And a look the current thought-crime legislation in the Senate shows it’s not far from being gone in the US. The best thing you could really hope for from Ron Paul is he appears likely to veto everything to comes his way. That might be a nice change compared to President Bush who signs more paper than Hillary Duff outside an Aeropostale.
Personally, I’d like to hear a president be opposed to “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell”. What I’d like to hear a presidential candidate say is something to the tune of, “I’m not for the policy, I’m for repealing it … and putting things back the way they were. Anyone practicing unhealthy sexual acts should find another career choice than the US military. And the military has no need to be ashamed of prohibiting such behavior.”
But don’t hold your breath waiting for someone to say that.
Ron,
It is technically impossible to find out how many people in the military are practicing “unhealthy sexual acts.” My guess is, it’s not any less than in the general population.
Unprotected sex? Erm, backdoor sex? Straight people do it. Lots of them do it. Yes, lots of straight people engage in unhealthy sexual acts. Why do you think drug companies spend millions promoting drugs to treat STDs?
How do you propose finding, much less weeding out, all the *straight* sexually active 20-somethings who may be making unwise sexual choices in their private lives?
Hi Emily, thanks for your comments. I disagree with your underling thought here, that it’s impossible to weed out, therefore it should be allowed. I was in the USAF. There are many things the military prohibits that may still go on. But when an individual is discovered engaging in or promoting those acts, they are corrected or removed from service. This is for the good of the mission. Remember, in the military it’s mission first. Anything that distracts from the mission must be removed.