Monday, December 06, 2010

Don't Ask

It was raining one day after school. The group of kids who stay late for our reading program all wanted to go outside. "No, I'm sorry," I explained, "It's raining."
After a few moments of staring blankly out into the downpour, at least three of our best and brightest announced, "No it's not." Faced with the blank indifference of precipitation, they chose to crib from Mythbuster Adam Savage, effectively announcing, "I reject your reality and substitute my own."
Maybe I shouldn't be so hard on our students, after all our nation's leaders are perfectly capable of doing exactly the same thing on a regular basis. One particular shining star in this firmament is John "I Picked Who?" McCain. The Pentagon released a report last week, which surveyed members from every branch of the military, and concluded that allowing gays to serve openly would not have long-lasting negative consequences on the military. Senator John disagreed. "What I want to know and what it is that Congress' duty to determine is not can our armed forces implement a repeal of this law, but whether the law should be repealed," McCain said. "Unfortunately, that key issue was not the focus of this study. It is, however, the fundamental question that must be answered by Congress -- not by the president or the courts, but by Congress."
Apparently, Mister McCain disagrees with another expert in the field: Himself. "The day that the leadership of the military comes to me and says, 'Senator, we ought to change the policy,' then I think we ought to consider seriously changing it," He said in October 2006 to an audience of Iowa State University students. He also disagrees with his wife, who appears in public service announcements for the organization NOH8, and said "Government treats the (gay) community like second-class citizens" and does not give young people hope.
Sorry, military. You're going to have to wait until John McCain gets the answer he wants.
My suggestion is this: Don't ask John McCain.

1 comment:

randoro said...

You mean John (which way is the wind blowing?)McCain changed his position? I'm shocked - just shocked. The question is why should we take seriously any politician that speaks in fractured syntax. That's a sure sign that the speaker either: A; doesn't know at all what they're talking about, B;hasn't really given the subject that much cognitive energy, or C; they're lying.