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Don't Let Them Wed

At the risk of seeming severely politically incorrect, I want to voice my opposition to legalizing gay marriages.

I'd like to preface that by saying that I think homophobia sucks, but this issue isn't supposed to be about gay-bashing rather than equal rights for all. After a couple of unhappy attempts at heterosexual marriage, my choice in lifestyles has been to live alone. I'm a member of a minority group that is already discriminated against with all the tax benefits that go to the baby-makers in heterosexual marriages and all their tax write-offs. I don't want additional benefits extended to gay couples because those expenses would be passed on to people like myself.

I respect the rights of others to mate with whomever they choose to love, but object to my being at a financial disadvantage because I prefer a lifestyle of being unmated. Anyone who claims that the gay marriage controversy is about equal rights for all is a hypocrite if they pretend that gay marriage "rights" matter, but unmated people (of whatever sexual orientation) are non-persons who don't matter.

People who sincerely want equal rights for all should goddamn well object to all the privileges (not "rights") given to the majority group of married heterosexuals that get subsidized by those of us (of whatever sexual orientation) who prefer living alone.

--Tony Formo, Seattle

What the FCC Didn't Want You to See

Last night PBS aired the documentary A Company of Soldiers. A Company of Soldiers tells the story of the men of Dog Company, the army's 1-8 Cavalry Regiment stationed in South Baghdad on the banks of the Tigris River. Over the course of thirty days and twenty-six missions, co-producer Edward Jarvis and his film crew traveled with Dog Company in and around Baghdad, capturing the war in Iraq firsthand, running alongside those who fight for their country.

During Vietnam, civilians back home received their first look at the realities of war via journalists who worked alongside the soldiers to film and photograph the battles. Vietnam and the footage that came out of it brought the realities of war into the living rooms of American citizens. Since that time, people have come to know the ugly, bloody, violent and tragic side of war, along with the heroic and brave side. No one who saw those photographs and film footage during the Vietnam War or since will ever be the same. And no soldier who comes out of war will leave unchanged. A Company of Soldiers follows in the tradition laid down by the journalists in Vietnam. This documentary, filmed in guerrilla style with handheld cameras and minimal lighting, shows us the gritty reality of a war that news reports and statistics cannot give to us.

This is because A Company of Soldiers, unlike the news and statistics, brings us into the war along with the film crew and soldiers. While watching the documentary, I could not help but feel as though I was in the trucks with the soldiers, watching them fire warning shots over their heads when passing cars came too close. I could not help but feel I was in the room when the death of one of their fellow soldiers was announced and the remaining company helped each other to grieve and process the news. I could not help but feel as though I was in the streets with them as they searched through the rubble of a Christian church, destroyed by a car bomb. That is the purpose of such documentaries: to introduce the audience to real people, real places, real situations and real casualties.

Not everyone was as excited to see A Company of Soldiers as I was that night. The FCC did not want the documentary to be shown due to its content. The FCC threatened to pull funding from any PBS station that aired the documentary. As a result, only Boston and Seattle risked the loss of critical funding and aired the documentary uncensored and in its entirety. Had the documentary been edited for language and content, the public would not have had the full experience of seeing the Iraq war in an honest and unapologetic way. Nothing in A Company of Soldiers is sugar coated to make it more palpable to its audience.

Personally, I felt that it was critical that A Company of Soldiers not be altered in any way, shape or form so that I and those watching could have the full experience that this documentary bravely gives to us. I commend the PBS stations of Boston and Seattle for showing A Company of Soldiers in spite of the threats of the FCC.

Anyone who believes in the importance of free speech and who believes that this war is wrong should contact their local PBS station and thank them for airing this important documentary. It is the bravery of those people who made the documentary and those who aired it that should be commended- in addition to those who fight the war itself. Continue to support your public television station come pledge time and support the efforts of those who fight for free speech, peace and the protection of our civil liberties.

In solidarity,

--Meighan Doherty, ACTION Northwest Outreach Director