A Message from Cholene Espinoza
Tick Tick Tick Tick Tick Tick Tick . . .
The unmistakable sound of the 60 Minutes stopwatch always makes me stop what I’m doing and listen to the evening line-up for America’s most watched news show. My eager attentiveness comes from the fact that over the course of the 25+ years I’ve been an avid watcher, I’ve noted that 60 Minutes is a catalyst for historic change.
As a cadet at the Air Force Academy in the 80s, I watched 60 Minutes bring South African Apartied to America’s living rooms - and eventually Apartheid ended. I’ve also watched 60 Minutes highlight the unintended consequences of our actions, as was the case with Lesley Stahl’s award winning piece on the impact that United Nation sanctions had on the children of Iraq. This story was of special interest to me . . . the UN missions I flew in my United States Air Force U-2, marked especially for Iraq over-flights with a big, chalked "UN" on the tail, kept those sanctions in place. And if there is one common denominator I have seen throughout the history of 60 Minutes, it is that they seek, above all else, to know and show the truth.
This Sunday night’s feature story will not disappoint those of us who want to know the truth about a topic that is more poignant to some of us than to others - the federally mandated discriminatory law affectionately known as "Don’t Ask Don’t Tell." CBS has covered this issue before, but this Sunday’s segment will shine new light on a more than decade-old topic.
Will this Sunday evening’s news exposé inspire Congress to hold hearings on the failed policy of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell and pass the Military Readiness Enhancement Act sitting on their desks? Will the American people be outraged enough to call their Congressional Representatives and Senators and demand to know why Congress hasn’t acted sooner to relieve the burden on our military and strengthen our security? The verdict is still out . . . and we - those of us fortunate enough to be citizens of this country - can be "the deciders."
I ask you to urge your friends and family to watch 60 Minutes this Sunday night. If you are inspired, angered, outraged, or motivated in any way, please engage with us at the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network to defend the defenders and change the course of our nation’s history.
Thank you for watching!
- Cholene EspinozaLabels: in the news, SLDN on 60 Minutes
12-13-07
4 Comments
Comments for this entry are closed.JIM on December 31, 1969 at 02.00 pm
Wow! I have waited over 40 years to see some progress on this outdated and repressive practice.<BR>In 1964 I was an 18 year old Navy enlisted volunteer who intended to make the Navy my life. Homosexual? I wasn’t even sure of what I was being accused. ONI and the Navy discharged me as 4F,“undesirable”. They ran me off with only donated civilian clothes on my back. I told my family that I was an alcoholic and had been discharged. Back then, I couldn’t find a job with that 4F discharge.<BR>It took me over 5 years to get over the guilt of this baggage. How many other qualified and dedicated young men have suffered as I did? I have been watching for years, maybe now the tide will turn. Gay and PROUD!<BR><BR>Jim Rakvica
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Awase on December 31, 1969 at 02.00 pm
Anything that can help get this policy overturned is great. I’m a 22 year veteran of the Navy who survived two investigations. I was also lucky enough to serve with people who knew my sexual orientation and just didn’t care, so I’ve known both ends of the spectrum. Certainly there is some middle ground that will allow brave Americans to serve their country, wihtout fear of losing their job for who they love.
Bleu=7 Lives on December 31, 1969 at 02.00 pm
This is so exciting and encouraging—I can feel so much momentum in my soul by all of this movement. Kudos to both you and Manzella for your efforts, and I will be sitting beside you in the interview chair this weekend. I realize this has already been taped, but I think it’s important that this is us. This is our voice, and the two of you are handling the responsibility with grace. I like to listen to the voices in this situation, but instead, put the faces of all those that are at home in tears, desperate for that freedom to be…just BE.<BR><BR>Thank you.<BR>Bleu
RunForrestRun on December 31, 1969 at 02.00 pm
Thanks Ms Espinoza! I’m a recently retired AF MSgt who survived a Spangdahlem AB, GE “witch hunt”, 27 of 28 accused were ousted because they broke under the fear tactics used by the OSI. I was the only one they had any “evidence” against and I survived by keeping my mouth shut and pure defiance . . . I’ll be watching Sunday night!!!