Don't Ask, Don't Tell

I don't have much on my conscious mind except survival.  When the Marines come to Fort Bragg,  all of life is reduced to their reality.  In the field.  Big guns.  Kill the enemy.  Maneuvers.  Completely I understand the need of  American servicemen to practice their craft, and there is no better to do so than Fort Bragg, North Carolina.  When Base Realignment and Closure made the decision to make Fort Bragg (soon to be Fort Powell) the center of the military universe, the bubble quickly was inflated to favor this strategic plan.  Why not make Fort Bragg the bubble itself?  A bubble always will emerge in a Capitalist society to favor commerce and revenue.  For Cumberland Country and Fayetteville mostly it was and has been housing.  The surrounding area must provide for these active duty military personnel and their families.  Always that has been the case for Fort Bragg and Fayetteville.  Not until now has housing been such a contentious issue.  A one bedroom apartment in Cumberland County rents for $1,200.00.  Gouge.  Then again we are in the wake of the Covid assault.  Necessarily the proximal economy must readjust, and America's news media is hesitant to point the blame for encroaching inflation on the supply chain blockage.  It's like we just forgot Covid really is to blame for increased prices for housing, gas, and food.  The reality for a host military community is, not everyone living here wants to live a military lifestyle.  It would be difficult for those outside of the 200,000 military bubble to exercise any sensibility other than that of those 200,000.  The few remaining can believe they are not governed by Uncle Sam, but the reality is the Department of Defense and the Pentagon hold sway over Cumberland Country.  It is their oyster.  There may be a few independent businesses, but wholly and fully the majority of Cumberland Country relies upon the flowing dollars of the military.  There is the restaurant scene, and evidently it has taken the place of the meet markets once located on Hay Street.  The smut or more accurately the diversion sought by taxed military enlistees has been cleaned up.  No longer does Hay Street cater to the needs of G.I.'s.  Unless they want to frequent a baseball game with their spouses and children, it is unlikely military personnel will  patron downtown Fayetteville.  Instead they will cruise Skibo Road and shop.  Have the needs of newly enlisted military personnel changed?  After living in a tent in the field for weeks at a time and undergoing stringent physical and psychological training, what do G.I.'s want to do?  Once it was drink alcohol, buy drugs, and hopefully get laid.  Was it appropriate to eradicate this potential from downtown Fayetteville?  Because this potentially illicit activity has been removed from public eye, where has it moved?  Is it possible that these once recognized and championed needs have been quelled?  Welcome Barack Obama and his introduction of open homosexual behavior in the United States military.  Believe me Fort Bragg has changed, and yet nary an institution has deemed it necessary to assess the ramifications of drastic change.  Gays in the military?  What does that mean, really?  If we now are allowing women openly to serve, is it possible Miss America is signing up for active duty?  Perhaps the Lady's Auxiliary has enlisted.  If one looks closely the more approximate profile of women in the military might be lesbian.  Considering Barack Obama sanctioned homosexual behavior in military ranks, could not serving now be exploited for this purpose?  Military life isn't civilian life, and if examined accurately we all must agree that military life is far from mainstream.  Basic training in and of itself presents a picture of challenge and extremism.  It is predicated by discipline and the necessary instilling of obedience and order.  Above all military personnel exist in and as ranks of people.  They operate in close confines as groups of soldiers relying upon one another to complete their mission.  This reliance is a necessary tenant of the military ethic.  Traditionally if the military once was predominantly male, allowing homosexual behavior freely to proliferate in the ranks would be a major shift of policy.  It could be seen as an unfair and inappropriate advantage for homosexuals the same way it is working in the close confines of a cruise ship.  As more women are introduced to military service the equation becomes more complex.  As a nation who funds the United States military through our tax dollars, we have no idea of the dynamic that exists today created by this new change.  Only those actively serving could offer a glimpse of this life.  The LGBT movement in America has been championed as a virtuous and reputable alternative to heterosexual romance, but because of its underground and rebellious nature we know nothing of its true integrity.  I personally find it insulting that factions assuming this persuasion are demanding our public respect.  What is it about LGBT that demands respect?  In a crude and primitive analogy what is it about a woman who proclaims she chooses and prefers sex with another woman that makes her virtuous and worthy of support?  The majority of the male race would and should say, "Get in line."  Of course the woman form is appealing sexually to many, but because you step on the bandwagon doesn't mean you get to cut the line.  Again I suggest, "Get in line."  As a woman are you more virtuous and respectable seeking the affection of another woman?  This would mean in a blanket assessment lesbians consider themselves more deserving for female companionship than men.  Bluntly they are "men haters."  Believe me Cumberland County is filled with Nazi Lesbian Men Haters, and I should ask myself whence they come?  The logical answer is openly homosexual behavior in the United States military has something to do with it.  Whether you are lobbing a grenade, swabbing a deck, or seeking gay sexual satisfaction in your ranks, this now accepted behavior in all probability has lessened the integrity of our fighting forces.  It is an inappropriate distraction, opportunity, and personal choice which should be been kept separate.  Bill Clinton's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" really was not bad policy.