Don't Ask is done, but we ALL still have a ways to go

Don’t ask don’t tell has been repealed. I have two thoughts.

1. It’s about time.

2. That was a pretty moronic rule to begin with.

First of all I’m going to start by saying this: I am happy that the decision has been made to end this policy. It was long overdue. There have been countless lives affected by this DADT and I hope that this will be the first of many necessary steps toward making openly gay and lesbian soldiers a reality in our armed forces.

Now on to the part about it being moronic… I mean seriously… Being a soldier is no joke. Those who choose to be soldiers are willingly putting themselves in harms way. And they choose to do this to protect us, the regular American citizens that have no desire to be out there. I cannot begin to imagine how many good soldiers we lost by having this policy. How many lives were lost because some of our best soldiers couldn’t go out into the field of battle? In a time when our soldiers are over extended and ill-equipped we’ve allowed our collective bigotry to prevent us from putting our best foot forward.

Shameful.

This is in no way an endorsement of the wars we have going on. I am not the biggest fan of war in general, nor some of the specific decisions that have been made with our recent foreign policy. I believe that we should do our best to avoid war at all costs unless absolutely necessary.

Plus I think that peace is pretty cool. But that’s just me.

But to deny someone the right to serve their country, no, protect their country, as a soldier because of their sexuality is terrible.

And it is wrong.

But of course we have seen this before. It wasn’t too long ago that the US military was segregated along racial lines. It seems that we are hard pressed to learn lessons from the past.

What has been will be again, 
   what has been done will be done again; 
   there is nothing new under the sun.  Ecclesiastes 1:9

Most of us are afraid of what is different. We are afraid of what is new. We resist change.

But that’s not the way the world works. The world is constantly changing. We move through seasons. We experience sunshine, winds and rains. Though we follow the same path around the sun we never come back to the same place.

Time marches on and so must we.

We have seen this battle waged before but under different banners. Whether it is race or gender, nationality or sexuality the struggles remain the same.

Either we can be fair, or we can be unjust.

This is a matter of morality. Everyone has all the right in the world to think or feel however they want to about anyone else. But they do not have the right to let those thoughts fuel actions that negatively affect the lives of others. They do not have the right to impose their will on others.

What is right for you is just that; right for you.

For our gay brothers and sisters this is just one battle of a larger war. I wish them the best as a fellow from one under represented group to another.

“So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.” – Jesus of Nazareth Matthew 7:12

I want the freedom to live my life as I choose so long as I don’t hurt others. I believe that everyone else should have that same right. If freedom is denied to one then it is denied to us all.

Stay strong. There is still a long way to go… for ALL OF US.

An Open Letter: So That We Might See

As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?"

"Neither this man nor his parents sinned," said Jesus, "but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life. – John 9: 1-3

Today’s Reading: 1 Chronicles 25-27: John 9:1-23

Dear Jesus,

First of all I want to say thank you for giving me my vison. The mud thing was pretty dramatic… but yeah man… thanks a lot.

Now… I don’t mean to sound ungrateful… but you said that I was blind so that the work of God might be displayed in my life. That doesn’t make sense to me. Ok yes what you did was super impressive but man, I went through my whole childhood blind as a bat! I’ve had to beg for money my entire adult life because I had no means or wherewithal to provide a living for myself.

The “why” that you gave your disciples I’m sure works for them. But to keep it real with you, it doesn’t work for me. This is MY life that you are talking about here! Where were you all these years when I was starving, ridiculed, ashamed, vulnerable, and taken advantage of? Where were you huh?

Sigh…

Ok… I just had to get that off my chest. But you gotta understand me here. It just doesn’t make any sense. Why would I have to suffer all of the hardship that I suffered so that your followers could learn a lesson? It just doesn’t seem fair.

Please help me understand.

Sincerely,

Your thankful servant.

My son,

I am sorry that you feel the way that you do and I will do my best to help you understand; but first I must ask you a few questions.

What is fair? How do you judge what is and what is not fair? Are your struggles yours alone? How did you make it all of these years? Were you loved?

I am love and I work through love. I never left you and I will always be with you. How did you feel when you received the caring touch from your mother or could hear the warm smile in the heart of your father when he spoke of you? Who was it that provided alms for you when you were hungry? Who looked out for you when you could not look out for yourself? Who guided your steps when you could not see the stumbling blocks in your path? Who reached down to help you when you fell?

It was I this whole time for I am love. When people act in love they are connected with the divine. It is hard for many people to learn to love because they only see what they want to see. So I sent them one who could not see to show them what they have been unable to see.

Through your blindness you taught the world to love; not only those who raised you, who knew you, and who saw you, but also all of those who will come after you for millennia. The fact that you grew up and lived to the age that you were when I encountered you is a testimony of the love that humanity is capable of.

It is only through love that a blind child can grow to be a man.

So I am sorry son for the sacrifice that you feel you have made but know that you are one of the great teachers of the ages. The greatest teachers are those who teach others how to love.

And you my friend succeeded at that; greatly.

Sincerely,

J.