Fighting Under The Rainbow Flag

[davidinalameda]

http://www.365gay.com/newscon05/08/082605military.htm

They fight side by side in Iraq. They win some battles and lose others. Both armies are desperately trying to bolster troop strength. But, the way the US and the British military are going about finding new recruits shows the marked differences between their cultures.
This weekend, the British Army, Air Force and Navy will be marching in Manchester's Gay Pride Parade in a bid to encourage gays and lesbians to enlist. A recruitment booth will be set up in the city's gay neighborhood where the Army will tell prospective recruits about partner benefits and couple's housing.

"I think it's great the army is coming,'' said festival director Claire Turner. "They're showing that they welcome gay people and the army is something gay people can be interested in.''

[lvx35]

1. According to my grandparents, gays in the military is long tradition.

My grandma, a republican, is always griping out how the media makes a "big deal" out of gays.

"They act like its big new modern thing, but those people have always been around. When I was in the Navy, there were so many of those women, and everybody knew, and nobody made a big fuss about it. But everybody has to focus on it instead of leaving it alone"

She served in the Navy in WWII.

[Maat]

2. You grammie cracks me up.

That is just how my grammie would have looked at things.

[lvx35]

3. They were a great generation.

When I worked in the nursing home, I had the pleasure to really get to know some WWII era people. Great people, different world. They were so down to earth. 'conservative' actual meant conserving things to them, not letting anything go to waste, very sustainable. They learned this during the depression as children. But they were totally different beasts than the 'conservatives' today who are always claiming that they are like the way it used to be, when they are radically different.

[Meldread]

4. I know it's ironic and strange.

Really, if you look at things from a certain prospective... we'd (today's liberals) would actually be more politically in line with pre-late 70's Conservatives. Today's conservatives seem like a strange warp of neo-liberal ideas that have been seriously twisted into something... very strange. However, they certainly aren't traditional conservatives.

For example libertarian issues (keeping the government out of peoples lives) USED to be a conservative issue. Look at the Patriot Act. Look at the fact that conservatives want to intrude more and more into our personal lives. Liberals stand against that, when in the past liberals had always been considered the ones who wanted to bring the government into peoples personal lives.

Conservatives of yesteryear, would likely believe homosexuality is wrong (product of Christianity), but wouldn't seek to deny homosexuals benefits. They would likely support civil unions and other benefits to protect gays against discrimination whereas today's conservatives are against it.

It's really odd and strange how things somehow got warped overtime.

[lvx35]

5. Yeah, it made more sense then regarding gays.

Conservatives of yesteryear, would likely believe homosexuality is wrong (product of Christianity), but wouldn't seek to deny homosexuals benefits.

Well the main thing is what you said before, they believed in government butting out of people's lives, so while they weren't likely to be FOR being gay, they also believed other people's lives weren't the government's damn business. Unfortunatly, we NEED to defend gay rights now, because modern republicans believe EVERYTHING is the government's business. They've made it an issue, where before, if government were butting out more, it would be a non-issue. At least that's my thoughts.

[Maat]

6. They were a great generation.

And they didn't whine.

My Grammie just quietly went about her business of being courageous and dependable (and loving).

She would not have treated anyone poorly, and was kind and affirming to all.

And, yes, in these times, we have to fight relentlessly for human rights.