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A Right to His Own Opinion
By Luke Visconti
March 29, 2007
I'd like to offer my opinion on
the Gen. Pace story.
People have the right to their own
opinion; however, title and authority are relevant to the implications and
repercussions for going public about those opinions.
Gen. Pace is not some guy hanging
around on the corner. He is the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and a
four-star general officer. All people who serve our nation in the military swear
to defend the Constitution and to follow lawful orders. People in the armed
forces do not enjoy the freedoms of civilians; they serve under the Uniform Code
of Military Justice (UCMJ). For example, it is a violation of the UCMJ for an
active-duty member of the military to "speak before a partisan political
gathering of any kind for promoting a partisan political party or candidate."
I'm pointing this out to show the
statutory limits placed on service people and the intent of the law that our
military not influence politics. Gen. Pace must adhere to the current policy of
"don't ask, don't tell" implemented by President Clinton. The power of an
opinion expressed by a person who literally can determine life and death for
other people has exceptional leverage.
We can't view Gen. Pace's comments
in abstract. Our
current president has used religion to polarize
America. You can see that from the
vehement, ugly, homophobic, hateful (in some cases, gleefully hateful) e-mail we
have duly published on this web site. These are not our normal
readers—practically none of them are subscribers. However, the haters are
organized and they've been whipped up. From gay marriage to Islamo-fascists,
this administration has mixed a potent brew of hate speech to create an "us vs.
them" atmosphere. Unfortunately for Gen. Pace, religion is now a hot-button
subject that has political implications. Senior active-duty military officers
publicly declaring religious opinions do so with the force of the authority of
their rank, and in my opinion, considering the nature of military life and our
current societal environment, it is not appropriate.
It is also relevant to keep in
mind that the Constitution that service people swear to defend guarantees us
freedom from a state religion. Here are the preamble to the Constitution and the
First Amendment:
(Preamble) "We the People of the
United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure
domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare,
and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain
and establish this Constitution for the United States of
America."
(Amendment One) "Congress shall
make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free
exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the
right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a
redress of grievances."
There is no mention of God in the
Constitution; it prescribes no national religion. One reason for our revolution
was to escape the oppression of a state religion.
The Constitution protects the
natural rights of human beings as described in the Declaration of Independence.
The founders of our country felt that the government does not give you rights;
they felt that every person is born with those rights, regardless of their
orientation, the status of their documentation or on what part of the planet
they live. It was absolutely revolutionary at the time to establish a country
whose primary responsibility was to protect human rights. We have not been able
to perfectly apply rights; for example, women were not allowed to vote until
1920 and although people like Washington and Franklin thought slavery should be
abolished at the founding of our country, they did not carry the argument and
the protection of our Constitution was imperfectly applied. But the process of
justice evolved and improved the protection of our freedoms over time through
amendments to our Constitution.
The protection of the Constitution
is absolute. For example, a majority of citizens in a particular state may wish
to re-enslave black people, but the Constitution would prevent that. You will
note (and the courts have noted) that the pledge of allegiance is not proscribed
in the Constitution.
An observation: When I was on active duty, I knew
several gay people on active duty, including two pilots (I was a helicopter
pilot in the Navy). One of the gay pilots I knew was the best pilot in the
squadron. If I were in trouble, that was the person I would hope to see in the
cockpit. I also know a gay former Marine. Everyone who serves knows that there
are gay people in the military.
A note to heterosexual
readers: Unless
you're living in Ted Kaczynski's old cabin, you know a gay person. If you
disagree with me, think about this—the gay people you know aren't comfortable
enough around you to be themselves.
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