Gabriela's Final Presentation

Gabriela’s blog taught me many things that I had never known before. For example, I had never heard of a “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell Policy.” Gabriela stated that this means, “It forbids homosexuals in the military from revealing their sexual orientation and others from "asking" about it while in the military.” I had assumed that our country was much more accepting of gays today. They are part of mainstream America’s TV shows, accepted much more within both politics and social life. However, this policy made me realize that America still has a long way to go. Would someone actually respect a solider risking his life for his country less because he is gay? That sounds ridiculous to me. And according to Gabriela’s statistics, 7 out of 10 America’s would agree with me. Another thing I found very interesting was the pros and cons of legalizing same sex marriage. Many people argued that same sex marriage is a civil right issue. However, those against it have reasons such as religion, and compromising tradition. Church and state are supposed to be separate within America, therefore religious beliefs should not be a determining factor as to whether gays and lesbians should legally be banned from being married. It is also interesting that many people are against it because it compromises traditions such as the union of men and women and children’s happiness. America is a country that grows from change. For example, technology is a change that goes against many traditions, yet we accept it. If you had gone back 60 years and asked someone if blacks should be allowed in the same schools as whites, they would have rejected the idea because it was not the way things worked. Yet look at the country today, that tradition is broken. Therefore, I think that lesbians and gays have hope in the future of being accepted.