On the Revolutionary Road

I do understand that it takes a lot of courage and will power to stand up for what you believe in. I have seen people who would talk to hearts content about doing something that they strongly believe in or want it dearly to happen but when it comes to reality they drop off the matter like hot potatoes. This being my experience I was pleasantly surprised when I read the news in Washington Post about Mike Mullen’s Stand in Capitol Hill. Mullen is the chairman of the Joint Chief of Staff and has been with the military for 42 years earning ribbons and medals for his achievements. In a meeting with Senate Armed Services committee, Mullen had spoken up for what he believed. He said that gays and lesbians should be allowed to serve openly in the army. What does ones personal practices have to do with being in the military?


‘Don’t ask, don’t tell’ policy among military personnels have let many gays to serve in the army but in a way they are not freely accepted. While the meeting among the Senate was also to repeal this law, Mullen came forward saying that whether this law is there or not, it should not make any difference for those people to serve for the nation. It is the ability of ones self in terms of performing their duties that should matter instead of trying to find out whether one is straight or not. The ability to shoot a gun does not depend on whether a person is gay or not. “You don’t have to be straight to shoot straight”


While there are many laws in different states in the United States being passed about gay marriages and gay rights, I am not saying favorably or otherwise about it in one way or another. It is ones personal preference. But when it comes to performing a job, or any job for that matter, one should be judged based on whether one is capable of performing their duties, instead of seeing what their personal preferences are. If I am interviewed for a job, I want the interviewer to find out about me in terms of my abilities to do the job and not about whether I want to stay married or stay single or stay with a partner. That has nothing to do with me writing a code for the IT Company or preparing an estimate on a project.


There is no such problem (or at least that I am aware of) in the corporate sector in employing people from such groups. Why is this an issue when it comes to military? Even when you fill out any application form for a job, I don’t remember any question that says “sexual preference”. The most I have seen is “married or single”. Why is there so much importance about something that happens behind closed doors? I really applaud Mullens’ stand on this subject. It takes a lot of determination to stand up in public for what one believes in. It gives me hope that those people who backed out from doing that something that they believed in, will some day have the courage to really stand up to face the world.