When our new president takes his oath of office next week, he'll be promising to represent all the people of our country, even those whose votes he didn't win (as he said in his acceptance speech), even those who fear him, even those who resent or dislike or distrust him. Among those most concerned about his leadership abilities, news reports tell us, is the military.

Information can be manipulated by actively selecting reports that are made public, by the way in which they are made public, and even by the way a survey is crafted, and I'm not convinced the military is as apprehensive as certain interested parties would have us believe. In any event, I think a reasonable person with a cool head is probably just the perspective we need from the commander-in-chief.

But there's something else that not a few in the military have their knickers in a twist about: don't ask, don't tell. Prior to President Clinton, it was not uncommon for a gay person serving in the armed forces, no matter how shining the person's record, to be discharged, and not necessarily an "honorable discharge." This would be like discharging someone for having green eyes; for most people, it's not a choice. Clinton tried to make it a non-issue, but bowing to pressure, he created a new rule whereby if people didn't talk about their gayness or act upon it, their jobs and careers were safe. They could risk their lives for their country, but they could not risk talking about their love for a partner.

Long before Clinton, back in the 1970s, an officer named Leonard Matlovich, a Vietnam vet who'd been awarded a bronze star and a purple heart, was teaching recruits about race tolerance and began to believe that discrimination based on sexuality was no different from racial discrimination. He became the first service person to speak about it publicly, and was subsequently discharged from the service — ultimately honorably, but not without a fight. A Time magazine cover story about him carried the headline, "I Am a Homosexual," and a TV movie was made about him.

Politically conservative and a Mormon convert, Matlovich probably wouldn't have voted for Barack Obama, who is likely to end this discriminatory policy when he becomes president. He won't be around to see Obama sworn in — he died 20 years ago — but his grave in the Congressional Cemetery (they wouldn't take him at Arlington) and a plaque recently affixed to his old building in San Francisco's Castro district, read: "When I was in the military, they gave me a medal for killing two men and a discharge for loving one."

I'm not sure why anyone is eager to fight in the military, but I look forward to honoring all of those who love our country enough to risk their lives for it.

Photo by D.B. King