Support In Repealing The Ban On Service

Here's the teaser:

ANNAPOLIS, Md. – More than 100 retired generals and admirals called Monday for repeal of the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy on gays so they can serve openly, according to a statement obtained by The Associated Press.

You can read the whole article here.

I have two political heroes in my life... my dad (for practical applications of what it means to be a Conservative) and Senator Barry Goldwater (who started what I consider "real Conservatism"). My dad has never made any statements about gays serving in the military but Senator Goldwater did. First, the man known as "Mr. Conservatism" is famously quoted as saying "You don't have to be straight to shoot straight." Nice and pithy, accurate on sentiment but not content. The "quote" comes from his famous 1993 Washington Post editorial:


We have wasted enough precious time, money and talent trying to
persecute and pretend. It's time to stop burying our heads in the sand and
denying reality for the sake of politics. It's time to deal with this
straight on and be done with it. It's time to get on with more important
business.

The conservative movement, to which I subscribe, has as one of its basic
tenets the belief that government should stay out of people's private
lives. Government governs best when it governs least-and stays out of the
impossible task of legislating morality. But legislating someone's version
of morality is exactly what we do by perpetuating discrimination against
gays.

We can take polls. We can visit submarines to get opinions on who are
the best citizens. But that is not the role of a democratic government in a
free society. Under our Constitution, everyone is guaranteed the right to
do as he pleases as long as it does not harm someone else. You don't need to be "straight" to fight and die for your country. You just need to shoot straight.

With all the good this country has accomplished and stood for, I know
that we can rise to the challenge, do the right thing and lift the ban on
gays in the military. Countries with far less leadership and discipline
have traveled this way, and successfully.

When you get down to it, no American able to serve should be allowed, much less given an excuse, not to serve his or her country. We need all our talent.

This is my brand of Conservatism (emphasis on that second paragraph of his). It's time for the rest of the GOP and the rest of the military to catch up.