Gay Soldiers Don’t Harm Unit Cohesion

The AP recently reported about a study conducted by the California based Palm Center which shows that allowing gay soldiers to express who they are openly and honestly will not damage unit cohesion. The panel which was assembled to look at the issue was a bi-partisan one featurning former military officers from both political persuasions.

However, even the Republican, Air Force Lt. Gen. Robert Minter Alexander has come to the conclusion that “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” must be repealed because it is based on an outdated attitude towards homosexuality which no longer applies in the modern day. Navy Vice Adm. Jack Shanahan, another Republican, said that he had no opinion on the policy when he joined the panel, but that he too emerged from the panel opposed to it due the lack of integrity it mandates:

“Everyone was living a big lie – the homosexuals were trying to hide their sexual orientation and the commanders were looking the other way because they didn’t want to disrupt operations by trying to enforce the law,”

The photo used was uploaded to Flickr by soldiersmediacenter who licensed it under a Creative Commons Attribution License and my use of the photo in no way indicates an endorsement of the article from soldiersmediacenter.

The Fall of Christianity

A recent study published by USA Today illustrates the damage which has been done to Christianity by members of the religious right such as Pat Robertson and the late Jerry Falwell. The study shows that a majority of 16 to 29 year olds, both Christian and non-Christian, believe that Christians are “judgmental” and “anti-gay.” One in four respondents recognized that the religion had lost it’s way and no longer fully reflected the teachings of Jesus. David Kinnaman, author of the book UnChristian:What a New Generation Really Thinks About Christianity. is quoted by USA Today saying:

“It started to become more clear to us that what they’re experiencing related to Christianity is some of the very things that Jesus warned religious people about, which is, avoiding removing the log from your own eye before trying to take the speck out of someone else’s. … When Jesus pursued people, he was much more critical of pride and much more critical of spiritual arrogance than he was of people who were sinful. And today’s Christians, if you spend enough time looking at their attitudes and actions, really are not like Jesus when it comes to that.”

Rick Warren, pastor of Saddleback Church and best-selling author is quoted echoing this call for the church’s redemption:

“For some time now, the hands and feet of the body of Christ have been amputated, and we’ve been pretty much reduced to a big mouth, we talk more than we do. It’s time to reattach the limbs and let the church be the church in the 21st century.”

The photo used was uploaded to Flickr by Will Pate who licensed it under a Creative Commons Attribution License and my use of the photo in no way indicates an endorsement of the article from Will Pate.