{"id":31738,"date":"2015-06-09T00:15:03","date_gmt":"2015-06-09T03:15:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/christianfighterpilot.com\/?p=31738"},"modified":"2016-11-25T00:05:21","modified_gmt":"2016-11-25T03:05:21","slug":"general-gay-pride-is-about-authenticity-meritocracy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/christianfighterpilot.com\/blog\/2015\/06\/09\/general-gay-pride-is-about-authenticity-meritocracy\/","title":{"rendered":"General: Gay Pride is About Authenticity, Meritocracy"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"An official Navy article<\/a> documented a US military “gay pride” event at Patuxent River, Maryland, on June 2nd that was hosted by BrigGen Tammy Smith — the “first openly gay US general.” While some have said the concept of “gay pride” celebrates sexuality by its very nature, BrigGen Smith said it wasn’t about people’s personal lives [emphasis added]:<\/p>\n

Pride is not about anyone\u2019s personal life; it\u2019s a celebration of authenticity<\/strong>. We celebrate pride because we value being a meritocracy<\/strong>, because we want to be an organization that attracts and retains the best talent…We celebrate pride because no one has the right to tell others who they should be or who they should not be<\/strong>.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Gen Smith did not elaborate, so it’s unclear how she views “lesbian, gay, and bisexual pride” correlating with the military’s emphasis on merit.<\/p>\n

Her final sentence was somewhat ironic, because the US military is one of the only US government agencies that can explicitly<\/em> tell people “who they should be or who they should not be” — at least, if they want to serve in the military.<\/p>\n

General Smith was also an “LGBT Pride” speaker last year<\/a>.\u00a0 Another Defense.gov article<\/a> described her “outreach” as a General officer in speaking to installations and commands about homosexuality:<\/p>\n

In her outreach work, Smith speaks to people at the installation level and sometimes at commands and other agencies.<\/p>\n

Her audiences learn the observance of LGBT pride isn\u2019t about orientation, the general said. It\u2019s about \u201cwho we are and who our families are,\u201d she said, noting that she tells her personal story so others know what it was like to live under DADT and how the repeal changed her life.<\/p>\n

\u201cI hope it validates individuals who have lived through it,\u201d she says of her work. She also hopes her outreach work will help DoD keep up with the rapid pace of change, she added.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

As an interesting aside, it is worth noting that General Smith’s speech about her\u00a0sexuality and her career\u00a0garnered essentially no notice, and certainly no criticism.\u00a0 By contrast, when another General spoke with “pride” about his Christian faith, Michael “Mikey” Weinstein’s call for court-martial<\/a> was loud enough to be picked up by the national media.\u00a0 In that case,\u00a0the Air Force finally issued a statement<\/a> that General Craig Olson was expressing his personal opinions, as he was allowed to do.\u00a0 Interestingly, the Air Force made a point of\u00a0adding that Olson’s opinions on his Christian faith<\/p>\n

do not represent the views of the United States Air Force.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Photo caption: Addressing an audience of approximately 150 employees across NAVAIR, Brig. Gen. Tammy Smith…spoke as part of NAVAIR\u2019s first Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Pride Month event June 2. (U.S. Navy photo)<\/span><\/p>\n

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