There was a time some years ago when I admired Senator McCain of Arizona. His military service was above and beyond the call of duty and he seemed like an intelligent, thoughtful man. I've never been fond of Republican politics, but McCain seemed like an honest Republican, a man with principles.
But l can't find any respect left in my heart for John McCain. McCain claims that he supports gay rights. He promised that when the military told him it was ready for the repeal of the Don't-Ask-Don't-Tell (DADT) law, he would support the repeal. But he simply lied! The majority of military leaders, as well as the overwhelming majority of servicemen and servicewomen in all branches, have spoken clearly: they support gay rights in the military, and they support the repeal of DADT.
So what does McCain do? He calls for more studies, committees and reports. When they arrive, he claims they didn't address the right question. He stalls.
And finally today, when the most definitive study was released by the military which concluded it is time to repeal DADT, what did McCain do? Did he take it to heart like he promised? No. He simply claimed that the report is "flawed" and that the senior military officers who put it together didn't do it right.
He's proving to be nothing more than a homophobic jerk. What's more, his actions today opposing the repeal of DADT are just the last in a long string of heartless, harsh conservative dogma that he's been reciting.
I respect people who care more than I respect people who merely happen to agree with me. I'd rather have friends who have thought about their morals and politics than friends who are knee-jerk liberals or conservatives. Well, I thought John McCain was someone I could respect, but either I misjudged him to begin with, or else McCain decided to become dishonest to his own principles for reasons I can't fathom.
Either way, I finally lost the last vestiges of respect I had left for Senator John McCain.
Thursday, December 2, 2010
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Dear readers -- I am no longer blogging and after leaving these blogs open for two years have finally stopped accepting comments due to spammers. Thanks for your interest. If you'd like to write to me, click on the "Contact" link at the top. Thanks! -- CJ.
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I completely agree, Craig.
ReplyDeleteJohn McCain clearly still subscribes to the belief that if a man is gay, their sexual orientation becomes a free license to be attracted to all men. I'm a heterosexual female, but that does not insinuate my sexual attraction to all men. If I were a gay woman, that would certainly not indicate my sexual attraction towards all women.
These broad generalizations are erroneous in addition to being societally poisonous. Too much misinformation floods the media, like propaganda during WWII, which develops a priming effect, essentially planting the seed of bias, intolerance, and a lack of sexual self-confidence.
I firmly believe that any person, be they male, female, or other, who has a solid understanding, respect, and confidence in their own sexuality, sexual orientation, and gender identity, would never feel threatened by the mere presence of a homosexual male.
In the line of duty, the tenets of brotherhood, solidarity, working together, and "having each other's backs", far outweigh any kind of sexuality issue. Sex and sexuality are military NON-issues, and unfortunately dinosaurs such as McCain, and religious fundamentalists of all monotheistic denominations seek only to perpetuate these misrepresentations based upon their own ignorance and the stories they were fed as youngsters.
The most ridiculous fact is their feeling as if the gay movement is recruiting. Recruiting? I'm sorry, you can't just make a decision to be gay no more than I can make a decision to be straight. They claim there are more gays today than before: I say to them NO. They have always been there, only you decided to burn them, castigate them, imprison them, or institutionalize them.
There was one point where "Blacks" were facing the same discrimination, and where women were also facing this difficulty. Today, we see intolerance towards these people in the military as primitive and boorish. One day, history books will catalogue these events, and the educated masses of tomorrow will look back on today and say the same thing we said about the suffragette movement, the Holocaust, and the civil rights movement: "How inhumane, how uncultivated, how backwards, and how ignorant. What kind of people WERE they?"
I look forward to the day when I can proudly say I refused to accept their bigoted rhetoric, subscribed to free thought, and came to my own conclusions based on reason, critical thinking skills, and exerted my power of choice to NOT be spoon-fed my ideologies.
Spritebright - What I can't figure out is how the repeal of DADT will hurt anyone else. The service is already open to gays and lesbians! So these arguments about all the problem that will ensue when DADT is repealed are completely bogus. All it will do is let servicemen and servicewomen be honest. How can that hurt anyone?
ReplyDeleteIn ten years, he's gone from being one of the few independent-minded Republicans left to being the Senate's resident old codger who simply doesn't get it. Everything he says now is pathetic and embarrassing. And, of course, in a desperate bid to curry favor with the fundies and the far right wingnuts, he unleashed Sarah Palin upon the world. For that, he deserves nothing but contempt.
ReplyDeleteIt's time for him to be encouraged strongly to retire, If he won't - well, winter is coming. Even in DC's relatively balmy climate, those Capitol steps get icy. Elderly people tend to slip and fall.