I need the following check for grammer, flow, etc. I would also like
to see if it could be expanded to 800 words.
A Time For Change:
Never has a nation enjoyed a greater range of individual rights.
America is the freest nation that the world has ever seen. People all
over the world want to come to America to enjoy that freedom, and that
is also why America is considered "the melting pot of the world". We
enjoy a democratic form of government. Americans enjoy many rights
such as the right to vote, freedom of speech, and numerous other
rights. Many of the rights we experience are due to the liberal
political movement. In recent years the liberal movement has been
taking aim at some of America's undemocratic institutions, most
notably the US military. The US military stands ready and able to
tackle almost every challenge they face, except allowing homosexuals
to serve in its ranks.
Public attitude about the role of homosexuals in the military has
gained steady interest over the last three decades. According to a
poll conducted in June of 1977, for example, fifty-one percent of the
public believed that homosexuals should be allowed to serve in the
military. In a similar poll conducted in May of 2002, a larger
number, seventy-two percent, believed that homosexuals should be
allowed to serve in the military (Torres-Reyna, Oscar and Shapiro.
Public Opinion Quarterly: Chicago. Winter 2002). As part of our
society, homosexuals have effectively functioned as brothers, bosses,
coworkers, athletes, police officers, entertainers, investment
advisors, attorneys, and much, much more. Since homosexuals have
functioned so effectively in the general public, there is no reason to
think that they should not be effective members of the military.
Research of the military in Canada, France, Germany, Israel, the
Netherlands, Norway, and the United Kingdom showed that ?few
homosexuals acknowledge their sexual orientation. Acknowledged
homosexuals very seldom challenged the norms and customs of their
organizations. Anti-homosexual sentiment did not disappear, but
heterosexual?s behavior toward homosexuals was more moderate than
might have been expected. Effectiveness of the organization has not
been diminished by the presence of homosexuals. Recruitment and
retention of personnel has not been affected by a policy of
nondiscrimination. Implementation is most successful where the
message is unambiguous, consistently delivered, uniformly enforced.
Leadership is critical in this regard? (Rand Research Brief.
www.rand.org/publications/RB/RB7537/). Finally and most importantly,
all American citizens are protected by the Constitution of the United
States, where it is illegal for employers to discriminate based on
race, color, creed, religion, national origin, disability, sex,
marital status, age and retaliation.
Homosexuals have not been singled out. The military excludes many
categories of personnel from service; single parents, felons, the
physically handicapped. Some services have polices excluding people
on the basis of height and weight, physical and mental ability, visual
accuracy, educational history, and age (Wells-Petry, Melissa.
Commentary. Wall Street Journal. 1 Feb 1993). Members of the
military are more conservatively minded people when compared to the
general public (www.cyberessays.com/Politics/136.htm). According to a
poll conducted in June of 1993, military personnel overwhelmingly
opposed lifting the restrictions on homosexuals serving in the
military (Rand Research Brief. www.rand.org/publications/RB/RB7537/).
Because of this mindset, lifting the ban on homosexuals in the
military could have divesting and dangerous consequences. Morale
would be undermined, and when morale is undermined, the effectiveness
of the military would plummet. At the present time in history
American can boast that it has the finest military in the world bar
none, if the ban on homosexual was lifted there is a chance that the
military mindset could regress to those experienced during the Vietnam
was era, where discipline was at its worst. Finally, no civilian
career can compare to a career in the military because of the high
levels of stress. Members experience stress due to long deployments
in combat environments. Not just limited to homosexuals, stress can
have catastrophic affects to individuals. Homosexuals' living in
extremely close quarters at deployed locations with others of the same
sex has the chance of razing already elevated stress levels even
further severely hampering America's was fighting capability.
There is no doubt in my mind that the American military should lift
the ban on homosexuals serving in the military. Homosexuals have
functioned effectively in the general public, so in my opinion there
is no reason to think that they should not be effective members of the
military. We all know homosexuals have served and are still serving
in the military; they have handled combat stress just like any other
individual. They lived in close quarters with others of the same sex
with no problems. As long as the military establishes clear and
effective standards of professional conduct there is no reason to
believe that lifting the ban on homosexuals would have a damaging
affect on the military. |
