06 December 2008

A Change of Heart

You know, this post was initially intended to be a warning that the Proposition 8 aftermath and the associated gay militantism could scare the upcoming administration into shying away from tackling DADT anytime soon, but I think continuing on that line of thought would be defeatist and pessimistic, as future developments within American politics are already panning out in a predictable fashion, as they tend to do. So, no lecture today, unfortunately.

Why such a swift change of heart? Two reasons:

a). The American public has a ridiculously short attention span.

I know, duh, right? But, for a second there, the rise of civic engagement surrounding the Obama campaign seemed to be forcing a reexamination of cynically held truths of American political involvement.

Fast forward one month after the election, and – Proposition 8 musical and court challenges aside – most of the violent protests and newsworthy events have already died down. The initial reaction to the passage of Proposition 8, while exciting, was also unsettling, as there was an accompanying subtle threat that a significant civil rights surge could begin a few months before the advent of the Obama administration, when the same kind of surge would be much more useful four years ago - or perhaps even four years from now. Should the level of response initially exhibited continue through January, I think at best an awkward situation for the Obama administration would have been created, and quite possibly gay rights activists would have looked foolish to the greater American public for taking attention from much more pressing issues, specifically the economy.

It seems, however, that gays are indeed just as American as anyone else – crazy, I know – and Americans hate focusing on anything longer than necessary. This may change, but I’m guessing we won’t be seeing any large Prop 8 protests during Obama’s inauguration. Or at least any warranting media attention. Which is a good thing.

b). I don’t think Obama has any intention of actively pushing repeal of DADT within the first few years of his presidency, anyway. Why? Outside of dodgy comments regarding the issue that have made their way to the media, I have spurious and dubious observations of my own, based on Obama’s official civil rights agenda:

  • the first two items on the gay rights list are Hate Crimes and ENDA, both of which should be ready to go through Congress immediately;

  • if the placement of the first two items are any indication of priority, the placement of repeal of DOMA and passively opposing any sort of Federal marriage amendment before the repeal of DADT is telling;

  • the wording used in the agenda, similar to sound-bites in the media, stress working with military leaders in repeal. While this is absolutely how the issue should be approached, it also subtly states Obama will not make the same mistake Clinton did, and force military leaders to examine the possibility of open homosexuality in the military under sharp Congressional and media scrutiny. Which in turn indicates every incentive for Obama not to even address DADT within the first few months – perhaps even years – of his administration.

What does this mean for the DADT movement in general? Mainly that we still have our work cut out for us. Given the same lack of attention span of the American public mentioned above, DADT needs to stay in the media through repeated events and research that show even more appalling costs of the policy for it to remain a priority on the gay rights list. Most importantly, more time means more opportunities for meetings with key individuals that will eventually be party to the inevitable debate once the policy does hit the floor of both Houses.

In other words, Servicemembers United is just as important as it ever has been. Rest assured, we will live up to the high standards we have set for ourselves through the Call To Duty Tour and the Flags on the Mall event, and we aim to only set the bar higher.

I have no doubt that 2009 will be an exciting year.

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