More reflections on the repeal of DADT

Here is a comment on Cindy Sheehan's piece (previous post) from a friend who is a military veteran:

Cindy writes, "We live in a world governed by binaries, straight or gay, them or us, freedom or tyranny. Until we break away from this norm, we shall forever be shackled to a narrow existence, manipulated by a political establishment that serves its own interests."

In this one sentence I think she has expressed and raised to my consciousness the underlying reason why I have 'felt good' about the move to remove the stigma of gays in the military...or anywhere else. This is an underlying principal. Next we deal with the problem of how the military is employed and we advocate for change for all members of the military regardless of their biological or physical differences.

I think often of how we train our children to accept and celebrate differences...or as she points out...binaries. My school/the other school; my team/the other team, people who wear my color of tee-shirt...etc. It's ingrained in our culture, perhaps in all cultures. But it is 'So 20th century' just as war is, and racial prejudice is, and....

... Changing the culture of the military (and corporations) is one of our most important challenges. In the meantime, I still see the movement for accepting gays as equals in the military as positive because it helps eliminate a binary and will perhaps cause others to look more closely at the greater danger of thinking in terms of 'them and us'.