I received a very nice email from Rob Levinson, Lt Col, USAF (Ret). In 2007 he may have been the highest ranking active-duty officer to publicly come out against “don’t ask don’t tell.” He had kind words about my father (it says something that so many of my father’s opponentswrite me with kind words to say about him).
After mentioning his disagreement, Levinson writes:
But none of this should diminish the importance of your father’s innovation. Not only a wise political compromise, it was indeed revolutionary thinking. Prior to DADT many asserted or believed that there was something innate about homosexuality that made gays unfit for service. No doubt rooted in religion, culture and traditional notions of “manliness.” Your dad changed all that by saying it wasn’t a problem with them, but a problem with us and our own discomfort. As society has changed and this discomfort has lessened, we can change the policy with I believe minimal disruption. Your dad’s innovation was an important step along this path and one that did much to acknowledge the common humanity of all of us. This certainly extends far beyond the military sphere.