Cindy McCain is now starring in a hard-hitting public campaign that directly tackles Don't Ask, Don't Tell.
If the United States government is sending the message that LGBT people are second class citizens McCain asks, can we really be surprised when they're daily harassed, bullied and attacked in our nations schools and streets?
Her stance puts her at powerful odds with her own husband, Senator John McCain, who enthusiastically supports Don't Ask, Don't Tell and will likely continue to even when a much anticipated internal military study next month confirms that the policy's repeal will have minimal impact on our armed services.
Conservatives are already calling the as yet unseen military report "flawed," and talking about requesting a study of the study - a delaying tactic to postpone what is looking increasingly inevitable.
But beyond the political posturing a rather sad fact is being revealed: the McCain family itself (mother and daughter) stand in dramatic opposition to the policy that John McCain ardently supports.
There can be little doubt that prejudice is at the root of Don't Ask, Don't Tell. It asks us to believe that gay soldiers are less capable, more easily compromised or less efficient soldiers than their heterosexual counterparts. But there has never been a shred of evidence to support that notion. Instead, Cindy McCain is explicitly saying that Don't Ask, Don't Tell sends a toxic message that fosters division and contempt. She's correct.
If the much heralded new military study claims (as it does) that there is no good reason to support the continuation of this anti-gay policy, then its supporters have lost the premise it was built on.
Cindy McCain's opposition reminds us how personally costly it can be to maintain an irrational bias in a country that promises equality to all of its citizens.
Watch her PSA here:
If the United States government is sending the message that LGBT people are second class citizens McCain asks, can we really be surprised when they're daily harassed, bullied and attacked in our nations schools and streets?
Her stance puts her at powerful odds with her own husband, Senator John McCain, who enthusiastically supports Don't Ask, Don't Tell and will likely continue to even when a much anticipated internal military study next month confirms that the policy's repeal will have minimal impact on our armed services.
Conservatives are already calling the as yet unseen military report "flawed," and talking about requesting a study of the study - a delaying tactic to postpone what is looking increasingly inevitable.
But beyond the political posturing a rather sad fact is being revealed: the McCain family itself (mother and daughter) stand in dramatic opposition to the policy that John McCain ardently supports.
There can be little doubt that prejudice is at the root of Don't Ask, Don't Tell. It asks us to believe that gay soldiers are less capable, more easily compromised or less efficient soldiers than their heterosexual counterparts. But there has never been a shred of evidence to support that notion. Instead, Cindy McCain is explicitly saying that Don't Ask, Don't Tell sends a toxic message that fosters division and contempt. She's correct.
If the much heralded new military study claims (as it does) that there is no good reason to support the continuation of this anti-gay policy, then its supporters have lost the premise it was built on.
Cindy McCain's opposition reminds us how personally costly it can be to maintain an irrational bias in a country that promises equality to all of its citizens.
Watch her PSA here:
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