"You must conceal the fact that you're black because the other members of your unit are in the KKK."

[originalpckelly]

"Being openly black is going to hurt unit cohesion, so we've got a whole bunch of white make-up over here for you to put on everyday, that way you won't offend them."

"We're sorry you're a Mormon and the rest of your unit is Evangelical, they think Joseph Smith was a false prophet and you're religion is the word of Satan and not God. You're going to have to conceal the fact that you're a Mormon or you'll have to convert to serve in the military."

Why does it sound so absurd for race or creed, yet not insane for sexual orientation?

When Truman integrated the armed forces, he did it all the way, because there was no half way. Either blacks were equal to whites and should be in the same unit or they weren't and had to be segregated.

I think what is most offensive about don't ask, don't tell is that we expect men and women to serve and possibly even die for us as a nation, yet we won't let them be open about a most fundamental aspect of life. It's not that the people serving who are homosexual are incapable physically of doing the same work, it's that the rest of the unit is so bigoted they must hide who they are.

And to hear so many of the Republican candidates completely accept this absolute absurdity was most sickening. Even when faced with a man who'd served his nation for decades, they couldn't even slightly soften their positions. Sickening.