"Don't Ask, Don't Tell" in Pictures

I can not imagine anyone wanting to join the military

Mr. Sheng, I think your work is excellent at capturing the emotion and isolation the military has imposed on all recruits since the implementation of DADT...and even before DADT when all LGB were given bad conduct discharge. I hope your work can invoke some feeling that ignites a foundation that might support programs that assist the veterans discharged & lacking resources to upgrade their discharges through this bigoted policy--from both past & present.

Collection is beautiful. Thank you :)

Excellent book. Amazing photos. #11 is pretty hot.

Number 15 is quite beautiful. These are powerful but I wish he had mixed up the theme a little more.

DADT is a policy of destruction rooted in a flawed political ideology. Taxpayer dollars are used to fund a policy to intentionally waste human talent, destroy careers and lives, hurt, punish, humiliate, denigrate and dehumanize otherwise productive members of society. Today many of those who authored, sponsored, cosponsored, voted for or otherwise supported DADT have their chance to live in shame for what they know that they did was wrong. But they have moral obligation to do what is right, redeem themselves and their integrity. The same shame was placed upon the men and women of the armed forces who did nothing wrong – instead did everything right – served with honor and died for their country to protect a Constitution that does not reciprocate by protecting the very gay men and lesbian women who would die to protect it, and protect their fellow man who the Constitution does protect. Duty to pay hundreds of thousand of dollars of tax dollars in a lifetime - to pay for courts that only recognize heterosexual marriages, to give tax-exempt status for some churches to only serve as political machines cranking out hateful propaganda, to fund a military that only lets heterosexuals serve, and to an immigration service that only lets heterosexuals into the United States.

The destruction and the opportunity cost of the waste of human potential and talent will never be known, but in the place of the positives of talent, human potential, support, love, acceptance and goodness - remains a cultural war of flawed ideology with the negatives of waste, punishment, condemnation, rejection, hate and evil. Just like the Inquisition, the Salem Witch Trials, Slavery and Segregation – one again, the conservative fundamentalist religious ideology remains on the wrong side of History, as no God can save the wicked from themselves, their hatred, their prejudice and their bigotry that they so take great pains to justify through false theology, false realities, rewritten bibles and false prophets. The choice of love versus hate, good versus evil, acceptance versus rejection, and support versus condemnation, and knowledge versus fear – the choice is clear – for those who have a human conscious and already know right from wrong, those to not require remedial help in morality that requires serpent in preacher’s clothing to tell them right from wrong.

Billions of dollars are spent to perpetuate the political business of propagating and imposing government-endorsed bigotry through the initiative process or the legislature. Just like the destruction of the loss from the talents that the military previously squandered, the war of flawed homophobic ideology is but - what a waste? Generations from now, DADT, DOMA, certain religious organizations will live in the shadows of shame, guilt, and embarrassment for their punitive attitudes and perpetuated injustices. Courts perpetuated injustices, churches sinned and will forever repent, and the military had waged a war against its own people. Today marks the beginning of the end of one dark chapter in history, as new hope emerges to just begin to correct the wrongs of yesterday - as taxpaying American gay and lesbian citizens gain one more inch towards citizenship. Soon no longer considered legal strangers in our own home, born into a country which has yet to live up to the ideals and fundamental rights supposedly guaranteed by the Constitution - but justified away by strict constructionists’ political ideologies. Soon no longer will productive, educated, honorable citizens be put into the same legal class as criminals, the mentally incompetent, or treated legally like children. As DADT falls, so will DOMA, and so will this dark chapter in human history finally see the light of bright, intelligent, caring and wonderful people who share the same core values and humanity and deserve the right to exist and to feel the same love, respect and dignity equally as all other Americans.

Billions of dollars are spent to perpetuate the political business of propagating and imposing government-endorsed bigotry through the initiative process or the legislature. Just like the destruction of the loss from the talents that the military previously squandered, the war of flawed homophobic ideology is but - what a waste? Generations from now, DADT, DOMA, certain religious organizations will live in the shadows of shame, guilt, and embarrassment for their punitive attitudes and perpetuated injustices. Courts perpetuated injustices, churches sinned and will forever repent, and the military had waged a war against its own people. Today marks the beginning of the end of one dark chapter in history, as new hope emerges to just begin to correct the wrongs of yesterday - as taxpaying American gay and lesbian citizens gain one more inch towards citizenship. Soon no longer considered legal strangers in our own home, born into a country which has yet to live up to the ideals and fundamental rights supposedly guaranteed by the Constitution - but justified away by strict constructionists’ political ideologies. Soon no longer will productive, educated, honorable citizens be put into the same legal class as criminals, the mentally incompetent, or treated legally like children. As DADT falls, so will DOMA, and so will this dark chapter in human history finally see the light of bright, intelligent, caring and wonderful people who share the same core values and humanity and deserve the right to exist and to feel the same love, respect and dignity equally as all other Americans.