We do need morality, Speaker Pelosi

“We don’t need moral judgment from the chairman of the Joint Chiefs,” says Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi, third in line for succession to the presidency.
(The transcript of her remark is here, commenting on Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Marine General Peter Pace, saying homosexuality is “immoral” in an interview with the Chicago Tribune.)

Pace’s position:

Responding to a question about a Clinton-era policy that is coming under renewed scrutiny amid fears of future U.S. troop shortages, Pace said the Pentagon should not "condone" immoral behavior by allowing gay soldiers to serve openly. He said his views were based on his personal "upbringing," in which he was taught that certain types of conduct are immoral.

"I believe homosexual acts between two individuals are immoral and that we should not condone immoral acts," Pace said in a wide-ranging discussion with Tribune editors and reporters in Chicago. "I do not believe the United States is well served by a policy that says it is OK to be immoral in any way.

"As an individual, I would not want [acceptance of gay behavior] to be our policy, just like I would not want it to be our policy that if we were to find out that so-and-so was sleeping with somebody else's wife, that we would just look the other way, which we do not. We prosecute that kind of immoral behavior," Pace said.

The "don't ask, don't tell" policy caused an uproar in the military when signed into law by President Clinton in 1993. At the time, supporters of the policy inside and outside the military argued that it was essential for the cohesion of combat units, not a question of morality.

I’ll leave the facts about gays in the military to the experts in military cohesion and effectiveness, and those expert in successfully integrating various backgrounds and lifestyles into stressful occupations that depend upon close ties among members.

My personal leanings are more tolerant now, nearing 60, than they were at 20 as a young Marine. That’s an important point to consider: the military depends upon the young, and depends upon unit cohesion. That’s not to say allowing open practice of homosexuality wouldn’t work in our professional military, but it is saying it’s another strain on professionalism and resources in the midst of a long war.

BUT, Speaker Pelosi, it absolutely won’t work to have a military in which “we don’t need moral judgment.” What the heck does she think motivates a young person to enlist or serve bravely but a moral judgment that our country and civilization is worth fighting for against those who are its enemies? What the heck does she think holds young men and women together under the horrible stresses of war but a unique bonding and reliance upon each other? What the heck does she appeal to in prosecuting young Marines or soldiers for mistakes in the heat of combat? Does Speaker Pelosi believe anyone would enlist or risk their lives and limbs to defend her or her San Francisco constituency, who have succeeded in largely chasing the military out of the Bay Area?

Moral judgment, and the willingness to fight for it, is what the military is about, indeed why we have a military. Otherwise, why not just accept beheadings, terror, enslavement, and all the other wonderful accoutrements of fanatic Islamists, or despotic satraps, or for that matter their depraved predecessors who murdered 100-million Russians and Chinese, or even persevere to win the Cold War.

Speaker Pelosi, third in succession to the presidency, needs some morality and, even more, some common sense, quickly.