{"id":53,"date":"2010-06-02T10:07:17","date_gmt":"2010-06-02T10:07:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/rabbishmuleyunleashed\/2010\/06\/gays-have-a-right-to-serve-their-country.html"},"modified":"2010-06-02T10:07:17","modified_gmt":"2010-06-02T10:07:17","slug":"gays-have-a-right-to-serve-their-country","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/rabbishmuleyunleashed\/2010\/06\/gays-have-a-right-to-serve-their-country.htm","title":{"rendered":"Gays Have a Right to Serve their Country"},"content":{"rendered":"

Every person has a right to serve his country, gays included. All have a right to serve their country openly without hiding who they are. It’s kind of odd that so many heterosexuals who are not prepared to make that kind of sacrifice, refusing to enlist in the military and preferring instead to live as armchair warriors, are condemning those with a patriotic passion to fight for freedom.<\/span><\/p>\n


\n<\/p>\n


<\/b><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The other day a woman called my radio show on WABC 770AM in NYC to
\nargue with me. She was adamantly against the repeal of ‘Don’t Ask Don’t Tell.’
\nShe said a homosexual lifestyle was dirty and against the Bible. I asked her
\nwhether she had children of military age and whether they, as good, clean,
\nheterosexuals would enlist in place of the gays whom she would ban. She
\nresponded, “They are doing other things to serve their country.” I thought so.<\/span><\/p>\n

Homosexuality is a religious sin. The Bible makes that much clear.
\nBut it is not a moral sin. Rather than being like the moral (and religious) sin
\nof adultery, in which lying, deception, and injury to an innocent party are
\ncommitted, homosexuality is an infraction between G-d and man. In that sense it
\nis akin to lighting a fire on the Sabbath, an act strictly forbidden by the
\nBible. No moral sin has taken place, but it is forbidden on religious grounds.<\/span><\/p>\n

I am a Rabbi and I take the words of the Bible seriously. But I will
\nnot call gay men and women names, I will not become a homophobe, and I will not
\nmake the error of mistaking sins that are deeply unethical, like ‘Do Not
\nSteal,’ with those that are simply irreligious, like gay men living together.<\/span><\/p>\n

On the same radio show a member of the military called in and said,
\nhaving served with homosexuals in the military under ‘Don’t Ask Don’t Tell,’ he
\ntoo was opposed to the reversal of the ban. ‘Too many gay men hit on me in the
\nshowers and the barracks, and were pretty aggressive about it, for me to think
\nthat they should ever be allowed to serve openly in the military. It will only
\nmake things worse.” To be sure, I don’t agree with the sentiment. I have worked
\nwith gay men and have become very close to many of them and they have yet to
\nhit on me even once. Granted, I am about five-foot-six, have a bushy beard, and
\nhave a monopack rather than a six-pack. But jokes aside, even if I disagree
\nwith the sentiment I respect the veteran offering the opinion because he
\nactually served. He fought, he sacrificed, and he has earned the right to a
\nstrong opinion on the matter. I believe his opinion is flawed in that it is
\nprobably more of an argument for the complete and utter separation of men and
\nwomen in the military than it is against the repeal of ‘Don’t Ask Don’t Tell.’
\nStill, he is a veteran and has earned the right to be strongly heard. The rest
\nof us, however, who have, for the most part, put personal considerations like
\nfear of injury or love of making a little bit more money that what’s on offer
\nin the military ahead of giving our country a few years of our lives, and
\nperhaps life itself, should perhaps be a little bit more humble about elevating
\nour opinions on a par with those who have enlisted.<\/span><\/p>\n

In general, America has become homosexual-obsessed. In nearly every
\nelection cycle it’s all-gay’s-all-the-time. Rather than talking the need for
\nvalues in American life, like greater spirituality and less materialism, we’re
\ntalking incessantly about gay marriage. We have a 50 percent divorce rate.
\nWe’ve got about half of all teens having heterosexual sex at ages where they
\nare absolutely not ready for that kind of adult experience and it is deeply
\ninjurious to their ability to later create bonds of intimacy. But do we ever
\ntalk about this stuff? Nope. Because the breakdown of marriage, many contend,
\nis all due to gay marriage. But if we straight people were just a little bit
\nmore honest with ourselves we would have to confess that we’ve done a pretty
\ngood job of ruining marriage on our own without any outside help, thank you
\nvery much. There is no need for easy scapegoats.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Bible uses the word ‘abomination’ approximately 122 times. True,
\nit uses it for homosexual sex, but it does so also for envy, jealousy, and
\narrogance. Perhaps, at times, we religious heterosexuals are guilty of allowing
\nour principles to spill over into outright homophobia, which is a sin against
\nG-d and might just constitute something of an abomination itself. For all are
\nG-d’s children, and all try their best, amid a fallible nature, to serve G-d
\nand country as best they can.<\/span><\/p>\n


<\/i><\/p>\n

\n<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Every person has a right to serve his country, gays included. All have a right to serve their country openly without hiding who they are. 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