Society, an entity that thrives through cultures, expanding to borders, oceans, mountain ranges, and the indentations of continents, has always had its flaws. In American history, something of relevance is our unique military. Today it is still considered the greatest in the world, and when you truly let that sink in, you can envelope all the perceptions that the world has created and sought to make sense of that.
In every aspect of our military we seem to reign supreme from modern weaponry, drilling, technological advancement, aerospace dominance, cohesive tactics, and the long dwelling support for our troops that stems into every aspect of our American lifestyle. We generally take care of our soldiers with the utmost respect and they seem to belong on a pedestal all their own. As a nation we understand that life is extremely precious and it takes strength, willpower, and dexterity to serve for our country's interests and to protect our way of life.
In reality, however, there was a centuries old government failure that has destroyed lives and caused permanent damage to families and to our military. This agenda, unbeknownst to many Americans, is the stigma and discrimination against LGBT people in the military.
In history the first man to be discharged from the U.S. military was Lieutenant Gotthold Frederick Enslin in 1778 for sodomy. As decades passed by, the military considered homosexuality a mental disorder and, besides being discharged, LGBT soldiers were also imprisoned, court-martialed, and marked as people to be harassed and beaten for the greater good.
During World War II the common classifications for discharge through the military for being homosexual were "blue discharge" or "general" and "undesirable." Years after WWII, a horrific event occurred, the gruesome beating of Navy petty officer Allen R. Schindler Jr., sparking criticism of how the military handles discrimination and attacks against homosexuals.
In 1992 Bill Clinton became president, the first president to actively oppose barring gays from military service. He sought to remedy the situation by repealing all legislation that stops LGBT individuals from joining the U.S. military. Through conservative politicians who would never see this happen and Clinton's own weak willingness to compromise, he ended up signing "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" in an effort to create bi-partisanship.
Instead, all it did was make liberal-minded people look weak and made discrimination legal in a U.S. institution, an oxymoron as the U.S. has always prided itself as a nation that ended segregation and actively fights against racial discrimination and the inequality of women in the workplace.
This piece of legislation never seemed to be fought over again; even though it had successfully destroyed positions in the military that were filled by gay and lesbian people, the most notable being over 54 Arabic translators and 750 decorated officers in critical occupations. To this day DADT has discharged over 13,500-plus gays and lesbians from serving their country in the name of the greater good.
Time and time again studies had proven that militaries who allowed gays and lesbians to openly serve did not have any lower ratio of troop morale, damaged unit cohesion, a decline in membership, or any problem whatsoever that would actually affect the military in a negative way. The irony of this is that this legislation, a disgusting piece of our legal system, poured hundreds of millions of tax-payer dollars into discharging Americans just like us and creating more psychological trauma to people who served this country and who still do in the name of our people.
It caused more harm than it ever did good to people who protect us and risk their lives to make sure our little piece of the world survives and thrives to its fullest potential. They were scared to be who they are, stopping them from enjoying the leisures of being free.
It has torn away their civil right of free speech and their ability to share the 5th Amendment with everyone else. With DADT our government had written another discriminatory chapter into our country's history books and today it has finally come to an end.
"Don't Ask, Don't Tell" affected us all, whether through the millions of family members who are part of the U.S. military or through the millions of people who never agreed with it. The majority of Americans, liberal and conservative alike, never vouched for this discrimination, and it was ultimately enacted through bigotry and hate for LGBT people in our trusted government.
It never deserved to be in our legal system in the first place, and for me to be joining the military in the upcoming months without this piece of legislation is a breath of fresh air and a relief for me knowing I will be going into a proud institution to help defend my people, our people, from fear and hatred.
In tomorrow's military, we will join the tens of countries who allow gays and lesbians to serve openly, and I'm proud to say we will move on and carry our efforts to end bigotry and discrimination forever. When every American begins to finally open up their windows to see that the world still suffers from such things, perhaps one day all this hate will end and justice will be brought in the name of our people.
LGBT people are citizens just like the rest of us, even when we as a nation allowed injustices and attacks against them that will permanently stain our society for the years to come. They persevered and proved time and time again that they deserve the respect and loving care that the rest of our military embraces.
I'm joining the United States Air Force as a straight LGBT activist, who will live among other people like me who took the step not many can take, and I will be sharing this joyous occasion with all my brothers and sisters. Whether gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, of different race, creed, nationality, or heritage; I will support them all.
In the end humanity thrives when we work together positively to evolve to move closer and closer to perfection. Even though we may never meet that epitome of society, I will always be fighting, and I will always be strong for the people who can't be.
The fight is far from over, and I will continually push for legislation to protect our fellow military personnel from harassment and any other form of danger. Ending DADT was only the beginning of a huge change that will be happening in the military, and it may be a long journey ahead.
But I ask all of us to unite and work together, so that we can meet our common goals to bring humanism back into the picture for the military. Shall we stand together to live amongst the greats of old who made us the people we are today? Or will we idly stand by and let others do the work for us? The latter will never make our dreams a reality, and I ask that we all progress ahead with the might that we all possess, to truly create change for the better.
Jesse Lee Mechling is a 19-year-old military recruit and straight LGBT ally from Martinez, California currently waiting for an assignment to the U.S. Air Force.