Jim Fitzgerald’s column

Jim Fitzgerald

Last Friday, I saw something on television that I have wanted to see for years. For 90 minutes, there was a direct exchange between the President and the opposition party, where they debated their differences on live television. It was President Obama and 140 Republicans in the same room talking about their visions for America. The refreshing part was to hear the charges against Obama’s policies being made directly to his face and to hear his responses. Even though the Republicans have expressed regret over allowing cameras to roll live, I think that was the most important part. We watched the President defend his policies face-to-face with those who believe he should lead the country in a different direction.

Of course, if you were watching the exchange on the Fox News channel, you were not able to see the complete dialogue. Apparently, Fox thought it would be better to redirect their audience to Obama critics rather than allow the viewers to see the action for themselves. Maybe Fox does not believe their viewers are capable of making up their own minds.

Nevertheless, the President has met with the Republicans before, several times, but their meetings were private. We were not able to witness the private exchange of public policy views. By keeping their conversations in the closet, we were left to the mercy of sound bites, misinformation, and political posturing. Since most of us are not lawyers, it is difficult to pick through the arguments and determine the essence of the truth when it is filtered through political spin-doctors and the media. However, when we can listen to their conservation in real time, it is much easier to see the complexity of the issues, gain a firmer grasp on the scope of the problems, and hear the reasoning behind the policies.

Speaking of closets, plans are underway to allow gay service members to serve openly in the military. Under current policy, they can serve but must do so in secret and must maintain celibacy. Over the decades, arguments purported that an open policy would undermine morale and unit cohesion. However, such an argument really suggests that our service members are too emotional or phobic to handle the presence of a gay person, an argument I think is hollow. Over 32 countries, almost all of them our allies, allow gays to serve openly and without discrimination. These countries include Israel (one of the finest fighting forces around), Germany, France, Norway, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Finland, Romania, Ireland, and the list goes on. If our service members cannot handle openly gay people in the military, what will they do when fighting beside our allies? Barry Goldwater said it best: a service member does not have to be straight; they just have to shoot straight.