By Mike Pankonien

Staff Writer

In a recent poll commissioned by The Family Research Council, a majority of American’s were found to be against letting congress set military policy (in particular “Don’t ask, don’t tell”) and would prefer the military itself decide its own affairs.

Out of 2000 participants, only 23 percent believed congress should have the authority over the military to repeal “Don’t ask, don’t tell” compared to 59 percent who believe the power should lie with the military; this is a grave mistake.

Since the adoption of our nation’s Constitution in 1787, Congress was granted the powers to “raise and support armies,” “provide and maintain a navy,” and to “make rules for the government and regulation of the land and naval forces,” as well as the power to declare war and gave the President the responsibility of being the military’s commander-in-chief. The power of the military does not stem from its weapons or manpower, but its authority through Congress.

Because of this, its power will always remain in the hands of the people, ensuring our republic. Our military’s loyalties to its commander-in-chief have tried and tested over the years. The 101st Airborne’s armed escort of “the little rock nine” during the desegregation of Little Rock Central High School more than proved this. The military accepted and carried out its orders during our nation’s most divided period of history, fully and faithfully.

When we increase the power of the military to oversee its own affairs in the name of efficiency, we endanger that republic. A government of democracy does not live with the handicaps or restrictions placed on it by its own military; the military acts out the policies and beliefs of that government. When the people of Rome placed the Roman conqueror Caesar at the head of their government, it was never returned. When a government is ousted and new one setup in Africa, it is quickly ousted by the same military that put it into power in the first place.

In addition to this, the military has long been the first stop for radical social changes in American society. For example, the military was the first public program to be open to blacks, roughly 20 years before the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. To deny the repeal of a policy inside our nation’s military is to encourage it and continue it in the rest of our nation’s society. When congress reviews such a policy and passes or repeals it, it must question whether it wants such policies repeated in our own society. By giving the military its own power to regulate such reforms, we are taking power away from our nations duly elected congressman and leaving it in the hands of those who have had no elections.

Our military is a very powerful thing; it is filled with American heroes and patriots whose acts of valor and bravery on the battlefield are tributes to their dedication to our country. But the military is not our nation’s policy makers and lawmakers should remember the ramifications that military policies have on actual federal policies the next time a bill comes through the house or the senate.