Gay Is Just a Day Away

Next on the “Trail of Tears” -- i.e. Obama promises that seem to have come a-cropper – but wait! Speaking of which, whatever happened to the Kyoto Protocol – you know, that document that was supposed to save the world from global warming, except that the United States, out of every country on Earth, has failed to ratify it? Why hasn't Obama just pushed it through Congress like everything else? Why the delay? Why is it not the #1 priority it always was during the reign of the Eeeevil George W. Bush? Is this another one of those things like the “homeless problem”, which vanished, like magic, on January 20, just like it always does whenever we have a Democratic president, only to reappear the minute a Republican gets in office? Oh, but wait – we still do have a homeless problem, but it's only because of the way the Eeeevil George W. Bush mismanaged the economy. So that comes under the heading of an “allowable homeless problem”.

But I digress. I don't want to talk about global warming right now – at least not directly. Or about homelessness either. The topic at hand is that of “gays in the military”, and the “Don't Ask, Don't Tell” policy that was a creature of the Clinton administration, but, strangely, left intact by Bush & Co. -- and – horror of horrors! -- left intact, so far, by the Obama administration... when all it would have taken is a quick flick of the wrist (if that is the term), and Obama could have opened the welcoming arms of the military to any and all GLBT (and add any other initials you deem appropriate) citizens. So again, why the delay? Or, as Robert Byrd would say, where is the outrage? These folks gave Obama their unconditional support throughout the election process, and now what does he do? He holds “preliminary discussions”. Yeah. That's the same thing we do on things like the “two-state solution” for Israel – you know, things we know damn well are never going to happen. Plus, what's to discuss? The administration has claimed that there are more important things to deal with right now – like the economy, the twin wars, etc. But hey – they have time to plant arugula in the White House garden, so why can't they fix the military's policy on gays? I just don't get it at all. You don't suppose... oh wait, I forgot, the president is commander-in-chief, right? So whatever he says, the military has to do – click heels, snappy salute, turn and go. Well, that's what Bill Clinton thought too, but someone advised him, behind closed doors I'm sure, that the military has ways of pushing back, and that the gay thing – while no longer even an issue (supposedly) for society at large – is still a bit of a sore point for the military (who have clearly never studied up on the ancient Greeks, or they would see it as the answer to the “unit cohesion” problem). Plus, the fact always comes up, at the most inconvenient times, that a huge proportion of members of Congress is ex-military... ex-Marine, even! And they just aren't all that excited by the notion of Judy Garland festivals (including karaoke and look-alike contests) at the post theater. Ah, but that generation will pass away before long... and the new enlightenment will dawn in all of its glory, beaming light into even the most dismal of our cultural caves... maybe, who knows, even including the military.