God bless Marine Corps Commandant Gen. James F. Amos. Despite incredible pressure from the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Secretary of Defense, and the entire Washington-political-media complex, Amos is courageously standing up for his Marines. The man refuses to buckle and bow to the pressure.
The Chairman, the Secretary of Defense and the political-media complex all want to bully the Marines into accepting open homosexuality within their ranks. They simply cannot fathom why anyone would object to this “enlightened — [and politically correct] — view.”
Of course, there are very good reasons — rooted in human nature, human psychology, human sexuality and group dynamics — to oppose openly gay service.
But no matter: the ruling class elites and the popular culture have decreed that only “homophobic” retrogrades oppose this “progressive” measure. And anyone who objects, they insist, must be forcibly removed from military service — or, at the very least, removed from positions of military leadership
Think I’m exaggerating? Think again. In yesterday’s Washington Post, for instance, long-time columnist Richard Cohen declared that Amos should be fired and replaced by a new commandant committed to effecting open homosexuality within the Corps.
“If and when the [“Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”] policy is changed,” Cohen writes, “President Obama ought to see to it that Amos is not tasked with implementing it. At the very top, the Marines need one good man.”
Well, so much for an educated and intellectually engaged military. So much for military leaders providing policymakers and the public with their best military advice and counsel. And so much for liberal tolerance of “dissenting points of view.”
For Cohen and the Left, dissent is only sanctioned when it is politically correct and in accordance with the “progressive” agenda.
Well, I have news for Cohen and the far Left. You can get rid of Amos, but you cannot so easily dismiss of the Marines’ objections to openly gay service.
In fact, any Marine who replaces Amos will share the General’s concerns about open homosexuality within the ranks. And that’s because the Marines are an elite fighting force steeped in the Judeo-Christian martial tradition.
Thus they recognize what too many of our ruling class elites willfully ignore, which is that sexual dynamics within military units are inherently disruptive and dangerous. The Marines also recognize that young people join the Corps to become better men and women; and that homosexuality is incompatible with the traditional Judeo-Christian sense of manhood and womanhood.
There is no need, then, for Pentagon “studies” to determine the “feelings” and attitudes of military personnel toward gay men and women. I’m sure most military personnel are highly tolerant and accepting of gay men and women, as am I — but so what? That’s completely irrelevant and beside the point.
Yet the Washington Post last week published a lengthy front-page editorial masquerading as a news piece on the “leaked” contents of the Pentagon’s survey of military personnel and their attitudes toward homosexuals. The Big Media have hyped this report, which purports to find that more than 70 percent of U.S. military personnel don’t think that openly gay service will be disruptive or cause problems.
Most of our servicemen and women probably do think this. They’re products, after all, of a cultural conditioning that has been going on for decades — a cultural conditioning intent on legitimizing homosexuality and putting it on a par with heterosexuality.
And certainly, even with the repeal of “Don’ Ask, Don’t Tell,” the U.S. military will continue to avert the most egregious violations of good order and discipline within the ranks. But again, so what? What does this prove?
Nothing really, because the deleterious effects of open homosexuality within the ranks aren’t dependent upon the ephemeral “feelings” of our servicemen and women. They are rooted in human nature, human psychology, human sexuality and group dynamics, all of which are much more deeply rooted and far more impervious to cultural conditioning.
Moreover, the deleterious effects of open homosexuality within the ranks will not become apparent immediately; they will manifest themselves over time and in myriad ways, many of which will be swept under the rug and hidden from public view.
But make no mistake: openly gay service will undermine the U.S. military, hinder recruiting, and turn people and families away from military service.
That’s why, in the name of diversity, I’ve urged policymakers and Congress to exempt the Marines from any attempt to repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” Give traditionalists at least one military service, the Marine Corps, that shares their values and traditions. And, if you must, give so-called progressives the other four military services to affirm their values and traditions.
In this way, everyone wins; no one loses; and we can witness a healthy and instructive competition about whose values and traditions are better, more compelling, and more efficacious.
If the far Left really believes that its values and traditions are right, and are on the right side of history, then they should welcome and not fear this competition. Certainly, as a traditionalist conservative, I say: Bring it on.
John R. Guardiano is a writer and analyst in Arlington, Virginia. He writes and blogs for a variety of publications, including FrumForum, the American Spectator and The Daily Caller. Follow him at his personal blog, ResoluteCon.com, and on Twitter @JohnRGuardiano.