A new era

This is the first post in a new blog. I have never had one of these before, but it seems like I might as well jump on the bandwagon. Better late than never.

The title of this blog comes from my two interests: Wargaming and economics. I study one and do the other as a hobby. No prizes for guessing which is which (and sometimes it's hard to tell).

Today seems as good a day as any to begin. "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" was just repealed. My first instinct is to gloat. The Freeplets are certainly blowing their stacks over this, and the sustenance their delicious little tears bring me is enough reason to celebrate. But this is a landmark decision in many, many ways.

For starters, it is one step towards bringing America into the 21st century. For being a major military and economic superpower, we are curiously backward in a lot of ways. Progress is inevitable, but sometimes it's slow. I firmly believe that attitudes toward homosexuality, race, religion etc. in this country are inextricably tied to the 60s counterculture that flowered here. Extreme regressivism is a backlash to rapid progress. People are scared of change, in other words, and it calcifies their opinions. Fortunately, progress moves in only one direction. Allowing gays to serve is, morally, the right thing to do. Ending discrimination should never be a means to an end, but an end in itself.

Beyond that, I laugh at the accusations that allowing gays to serve openly will "undermine the greatest military in the history of the world." For one thing, I think the Mongols, Spartans, Ayyubids etc. can all make pretty good stabs at claiming that title, depending on the definition of "greatest." But beyond that, it's laughable that homosexuality undermines military effectiveness. In fact, in the case of Sparta, widespread homosexuality within the army helped cement bonds of loyalty and support the discipline for which Spartan soldiers were famous. Simply put, despite stereotypes of "limp-wristedness" (stereotypes that are now held only by the old, foolish or both), homosexuals are no more or less effective in combat than heterosexuals; and just as in the general population, only homosexuals interested in joining the army and fighting will join the army. As a result, they'll naturally self-select for aptitude in combat-- just like every single other person who joins.

Beyond tearing down the flimsy opposition to this measure, we should dwell on its implications. In my view, the repeal of Don't Ask Don't Tell has made gay marriage inevitable in all of America within fifteen years. I hope it doesn't even take that long. Public support for gay marriage will skyrocket now that they cannot be kept out of the military. Who wants to tell a soldier he can die for his country but not marry the man he loves? As soon as Democrats regain the House in 2012 I expect we'll see DOMA repealed as well. Perhaps we will have to wait until 2014 or 2016, but not much longer than that. In fact, I would guess that the majority of states will have gay marriage within ten years, with a few holdouts taking a bit longer before either the Supreme Court or public pressure forces them into line. The bigots will grumble as they always do, but what else is left to them?

In this post I regrettably mentioned neither minis nor money, but it's a special day. I did touch on some topics I would like to revisit in the future: demographic transition, age and conservatism, social backlash, history (another interest, though not an academic one), gay rights, and predictions for the 2012 election (hint: it's going to be a lot of fun). Join me next time for... something.