LIKE IT or not, we are at war - a war where the front line lies right on American soil. In this "War on Terrorism," all Americans are vulnerable and involved with the enemy. Because of this new type of war, President Bush told Americans we must be prepared to make sacrifices during a time of international instability.
Bush is right -- America must make sacrifices that benefit the safety of the country. However, under current standards, the right wing's continual discrimination of gays in the military is apparently irrelevent to the sacrifices Americans have to make. America desperately needs Arabic linguists -- but currently, being homosexual bars some linguists from expressing their patriotism and performing their civic duty. Over the last year, the army discharged nine linguists -- six trained to speak Arabic -- after they admitted to their superiors they were gay, according to the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, a group that defends homosexuals in the military. In light of this disturbing discrimination that damages American security as well as the American ideal of equality, Congress and the president must eliminate the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy -- at least for non-combat participants -- for the sake of the safety of millions of Americans.
The recent example of the firing of two linguists proves the inadequacy of the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy. Two of the cases last year that involved the firing of two Arabic linguists dealt with Privates First Class Julie Evans and Patricia Ramirez. Evans and Ramirez sent letters to inform their superiors of their sexual orientation, and the Defense Language Institute, where they studied, informed them that they could remain in the service. However, according to the SLDN, the DLI then reopened the case and probed fellow members at the DLI to seek out homosexual behavior. DLI threatened additional members with disciplinary measures if they did not cooperate with the investigation. Soon after, DLI fired Evans and Ramirez under the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy.
The overreaction of the DLI shows the ineffectiveness of the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy. The DLI hunted out Evans and Ramirez to remove them from military service. Evans and Ramirez told their superiors thatthey were gay hoping the DLI would recognize that their sexual orientation had nothing to do with their job performance. As linguists, they play a different role than the common soldier in the military, and to discriminate against them is not only unethical, but dangerous as well.
Ideally, homosexuals would have unrestricted access to fight for their country. However, change is a gradual process, and now is the time to allow homosexuals to enter into non-combat positions without restrictions. Just as "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" was a step in the right direction, allowing homosexuals into non-combat positions will benefit not only the homosexual community, but the American populace as a whole without too radical a change.
Practicality must triumph over traditions during this war. In the past the Bush administration has clearly allowed privacy and civil rights to be endangered for the sake of American safety. Allowing gay linguists to work for the U.S. military would involve minimal sacrifices with maximum results. It would be hypocritical for the Bush administration not to allow gays into the military; a strong anti-gay military sentiment must be jettisoned to save the lives of Americans and men and women around the world.
Homosexuals and heterosexuals are equally capable of saving lives. The ultimate goal of the military is exactly that, to protect Americans from the dangers of foreign enemies. By allowing gays to translate for the American military, any discomfort that might result would be limited and lives will be saved. The linguists work behind the scenes; it is a completely different environment from that of fighting on the front lines. Heterosexuality is hardly a requirement to understand Arabic, so the military should treat homosexuals as equals in this sphere of service at least.
America needs Arabic linguists, yet America tosses gay linguists away for their private choices that have little to no effect on their fellow soldiers and intelligence-gatherers. On Sept. 10, 2001, America's intelligence agency intercepted a message in Arabic that read "Tomorrow is Zero Hour." If a homosexual, heterosexual or transsexual linguist read that message and prevented the tragic events of Sept. 11 from ever occurring, America would care less about the sexual orientation of its army. But unfortunately we live in an era where unjust ethical principles trump equality and, most importantly, safety.
To restrict homosexual military service during peacetime is unfortunate; to bar gays from service at war is tragic. It is time the government made some sacrifices of their own for the sake of the country's safety and ideals.
(Patrick Harvey's column appears Mondays in The Cavalier Daily. He can be reached at pharvey@cavalierdaily.com.)
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