Don't Ask, Do Tell

Marine General Peter Pace is in hot water for saying in a press interview this week that he believes homosexual acts are immoral. Predictably, the left-wing blogosphere and mainstream media went into convulsions of rage.

I guess General Pace missed that part of the Constitution. Here's the rule: everyone has an absolute right to insert their private parts into whatever place they can find, as long as the owner of that place consents. To dare question the wisdom - much less the morality - of any such acts is high treason and anyone who does so must be immediately destroyed.

What people are missing is that the general's statement came in the context of supporting the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy that was declared by President Clinton in 1993. It was what he said next that got him in trouble:

"I believe that homosexual acts between individuals are immoral and that we should not condone immoral acts. I do not believe that the armed forces of the United States are well served by saying through our policies that it's OK to be immoral in any way."

Note that General Pace did not say homosexual people are immoral or in any way undesirable. No, he focused on the acts they may commit. There is no allegation that he has in any way done anything improper to gay people. All he has done is enforce the policy that a Democratic president ordered. This is what generals are supposed to do: execute the orders of the president. Their own opinions may differ.

Nevertheless, even some so-called conservatives are outraged that a Marine would have such an opinion:

Sen. John Warner, R-Va., one of Congress' most respected authorities on military matters and a former Navy secretary, said, "I respectfully but strongly disagree with the chairman's view that homosexuality is immoral."

Let's consider this statement. First of all, the Senator is misstating what the General said. As noted above, his comment was directed at homosexual acts, not the condition of homosexuality. Second, what is the Senator's basis for his belief? The view that homosexual acts are immoral comes from thousands of years of natural law and the scriptures of all major religions. It is shared by a large part of our society. If the Senator wishes to disagree, surely he has some reasoning more than his own personal opinion. Do we really want a society where all morality is in the mind of the beholder?

For example, in the same interview the general said adultery is also immoral. Does Senator Warner think adultery is immoral? If so, how can he consistently say that adultery is wrong by homosex isn't?

Do we see adulterers rising up to complain that they are being discriminated against? Do they have their own lobbying groups? No. Why not? Because most people who commit adultery still have, deep down, some sense of shame. They know their behavior is immoral.

General Pace has now "clarified" his statement. He did not apologize; he simply said he was wrong to state his personal opinion while performing official business. We'll see if this is enough to calm the furor. I'm guessing it will not. The gay lobby will not rest until it has his head on a platter, and with so many other problems I won't be surprised if the Bush Administration throws him to the wolves.