For those of you who are against repealing Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, lets look at our founding fathers and the Revolutionary War that brought this country into existence. George Washington had put together a rag-tag group of farmers, artisans, and other common folk to fight the most powerful military army on earth. They were hardly able to win a battle against the more seasoned British troops and managed only hit and run tactics inflicting little significant damage on their enemy. Along came Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben a Prussian aristocrat and military officer who served as inspector general and Major general of the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. He is credited with teaching the Continental Army the essentials of military drill and discipline, helping to guide it to victory. He wrote the Revolutionary War Drill Manual, the book that became the standard United States drill manual until the War of 1812, and served as General George Washington's chief of staff in the final years of the war. Here is the kicker: Steuben's career at Hohenzollern-Hechigen, in Germany ended in scandal: he was alleged to be gay and was accused of improper sexual behavior with young boys. Whether or not Steuben was actually gay is not known, but the rumors compelled him to seek employment elsewhere. If he was gay, and who knows what the dirty politics of the day were like, a gay general in the Continental Army brought this country into being. Did being gay really matter?
Dr moen, you sure have a way of distorting information to fit your agenda, don't you? On one hand you clearly state his alleged homosexuality was just that, "alleged" but then you end your post with the statement with "Did being gay really matter" like it was a foregone conclusion.
Well, from a British perspective it might matter. I mean after all, he was helping the enemy in those days. The point being that if it weren't for a gay or rumored gay commanding officer, this country may not even exist. So here some people are today trying to keep gay soldiers from serving openly in the military when we might just owe this country to a gay military officer. Where is the sanity in that nonsense?
Did he serve 'openly'? Or was there more of an unofficial 'Don't ask, don't tell, don't get your career ended in scandal' policy at work? lol Now don't get me wrong, I know for a fact that there are gay and lesbian military members who serve and serve well in the military. I was in the military for 20 years and I an neither blind nor stupid. But, it will also be huge challenges when they do remove the Don't ask, don't tell policy. With women in the military. They already (try to) 'outlaw' sex in deployed locations. Even between married members. I am not even sure what they will try and do with relations between Fred and Ted. But, yes, there is no doubt in my mind that the policy will eventually be lifted. I am just glad it is not something I will have to deal with any more. I can only imagine the number of briefings and new regulations that will result. lol
What I was actualy asking LOL was does it matter what a persons sexual orientaion is, not if it matterd about if Von Steuben was gay or not. Do you ask if the firefighter who saves you from a burning building is gay, or the medic at a road accident, or the lifesaver at the beach? How about the cop who arrests a dangerouse felon or the scientist who discovers a cure for something? Do we ask then. Well no we dont but as soon as it comes to the armed forces we have to know, why? As long as you persecute someone for there sexuality that is when the problems start, they hide it and in turn allow themselfs to become targets for blackmail and other pressures. take away the fear and they can serve just as well as anyone else.
