The Evil of Bigotry Loses Another Big Battle

A column in the San Antonio press looks at how history will view the demise of Don't Ask Don't Tell and in the process looks at the reality that the USA on many fronts has been a follower as opposed to a leader in granting civil rights for all of its citizens. Unfortunately, this legacy of being a follower rather than a leader in equality and freedom is not a new phenomenon. Indeed, Canada (in 1807) and European countries (France in 1794; Germany in 18o7; Spain in 1811; the Netherlands in 1814; Greece in 1822; British Empire in 1833) abolished slavery decades before the bloody contest of the Civil War decided the issue in America and, even then, segregation and discrimination remained the norm - certainly in the South - in much of America for another century. The same too holds for anti-gay bigotry where other nations have outstripped the supposed beacon of liberty which the USA pretends to be. Here are column highlights:
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[H]istory will record one Obama achievement with the appropriate drum roll and without caveats, and that is the repeal of the Don t Ask, Don t Tell legislation that banned gays and lesbians from serving openly in the military. It took 17 years from its passage for the courts to recognize that DADT is an unconstitutional infringement of the civil rights of gay people.
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In terms of social policy, the end of DADT takes its place amidst other historic milestones, notably Truman s desegregation order and the Supreme Court s 1954 decision in Brown v Board of Education to integrate the nation s public schools. For Obama, repeal of DADT is a campaign promise kept that will help him redeem his liberal bona fides.
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Americans like to think we re on the side of the angels when it comes to protecting individual freedom and civil rights, but history tells us we re often late to the party. Other industrialized countries did away with slavery way before we did, and without the bloodshed of a civil war. Britain outlawed the practice in the early 1800s. America lagged behind in granting women the right to vote, and women are still under-represented in elective office at every level.
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One of the arguments against ending DADT is based on religion objections. Christian traditionalists think homosexuality is wrong and cite passages in the Bible to back up their belief. America was founded on the basis of religious freedom yet when there is discrimination against gays and lesbians it is often done in the name of religion.
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We shouldn t be surprised that people hide behind religion. Critics of giving women the vote could find theological support for their belief that women should be in a subordinate role. Discriminating against people of color has a long history of justification and rationalization, some religiously based, some just plain ignorant.
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Much of the world must look at us with bemusement that we took so long to reach the conclusion that sexual orientation is irrelevant to the ability of men and women to form a fighting force. The greatest armies in the world made peace with differing sexual orientations a long time ago. Israel tops the list with an enviable army that deals with existential threats every day.
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In a new century with different social challenges, the military is shouldering a generational transformation in the way gay people are regarded, and Obama, like Truman before him, will get full credit. It will be recorded that the evil of bigotry lost a big battle in 2010.