From page 133 of Service Etiquette: Fourth Edition:
Controversial subjects – religion, race, and politics – and any unpleasant subject should not be discussed at social unctions, and are treated carefully at all times.
This is very similar to the way I was taught, except that sex replaced race in the maxim. But at some point over the last twenty years this sage advice has become completely ignored within the military. My specific experiences have been mostly within the US Navy Officer corps but I have read reports and news articles that verify similar abuses in other services.
For some reason, it is assumed that everyone is aligned with the extreme right. Based on observations, I suspect a vast majority are. I did, however, note at least a few like me who didn’t “ditto” along and laugh at the jokes. There was rarely anything to be gained by correcting that misperception, but now that I’m retired I’m free to comment without fear of retribution.
Just before I retired, I attended a sister service’s “Birthday Ball”. During the pre-dinner small talk, one of the several officers senior to me was going table-to-table greeting guests. When he arrived at my table, he told a joke that ended with the punchline that a kid lied and said his parent was a porn star because it was too embarrasing to admit the parent worked for Hillary CLinton’s campaign. When the majority of the table’s guests guffawed (my wife and I weren’t alone in not laughing) the senior officer confided he was glad this table found it funny as the last didn’t.
So, hope is not lost. But at some point, unless free thinkers make an effort to recruit more into the military, it will be nothing more than an extension of the extreme right.
