One of the insights I picked up this year is that deeply understanding what’s really happening in the world requires going to one’s relative cultural edge — which is to say that whatever is occurring at the boundaries of society represents a subtext or theme for the prevailing arrangements of power in said society. This is where the saying that life imitating art comes from.
This is why the recently revived ban on transgender service in the military is so incredibly, deeply concerning and should give all of us pause to reflect on our values. The good news is that our opinions — while interesting — are irrelevant. The US constitution makes it clear for us: “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdictions thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside. No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any state deprive any person life, liberty or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.”
Ihave to imagine that as the protections above extend to those pursuing liberty, it most certainly covers those who seek to protect liberty.
Consider a few facts. The military is a vast enterprise of 1.2 million positions and organizations like the US Public Health Service and the Coast Guard. Consider that it is staffed by anodyne positions like accounting, personal training, veterinarian services, engineering and nursing. Consider that military policies often extend into their contractor and supply chain agreements, furthering policy agendas such as this. Consider that if you want someone brave next to you in a foxhole, you may want the person brave enough to be themselves, not least of which includes transitioning between sexes.
Consider that you know transgender people. I do. I know a few. The very notion that they are somehow less than or defective with regard to any professional endeavor is abhorrent. There is no judgement to be made here, period.
Consider that transgender is a broad category that comes very close to other categories within LGTBQ, which represents 7% of the US population. Almost double when surveyed anonymously. What does this say to them?
Consider that even if the Constitution didn’t mandate equal protection, the practical implementation of this ruling is impossibly flawed with 15,000 transgender people already in active service.
Listen, to be clear, the world is ever-more complex and noisier — leading to a feeling of chaos. But it’s just a feeling. The world is not in chaos. It’s up to every single one of us to take a stand on that & be the people we want to see in the word. That’s why this issue is so important; if you don’t know where to start, equal protection under the law is a no-brainer.
And to where we started, consider that a military with radical diversity is radically more equipped to deal with the world around us.