Arguementative Essay 1

Kaela Newsom
Rhetoric/Comp 101
Argumentative Essay
10.5.2011

“We have the best trained, best equipped, and most professional force in the history of our country, and the men and women in uniform are performing heroically in two wars.   At a time when our Armed Forces are fighting and sacrificing on the battlefield, now is not the time to abandon the [Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell] policy,” Arizona state senator John McCain expressed while addressing whether to lift or keep the policy.   Will heterosexual American citizens ever view and accept homosexual, bisexual, and transgender America with equal rights and freedom?   In 1993, during his first term of presidency, former President Bill Clinton passed the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy; one which banned homosexual and bisexual individuals from openly serving in the United States Military.   After over fifteen years of remaining in effect, President Barack Obama finally overturned Clinton’s policy, an issue that not only shook United States veterans and military personnel, but also sparked an on-going debate between liberal and conservative -activists.   An individual’s ability to wear a uniform and “perform heroically in war” and “fight and sacrifice on the battlefield” has nothing to do with the label that defines their sexuality.   Sexuality is a lifestyle that neither harms anyone or imposes a physical disability, so why the discrimination?   Obama rightfully repealed the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy.   One’s desires to serve, protect, and fight for their country should not be jeopardized due to their sexual orientation.
Two fundamentals of American history that stand for justice are The Declaration of Independence and The Pledge of Allegiance.   If The Declaration of Independence does not say enough just in its title, quoted within are the words,
“. . . that all men are created equal . . . with certain unalienable rights . . .”

and in The Pledge of Allegiance,

“. . . one nation, under God. . ."... [continues]

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