By Abhishek Seth on
The songstress phenomenon Lady Gaga made one of her most political public addresses of her music reign last Monday in Maine’s Deering Oaks Park, passionately conveying to a throng of fans that the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy violates the Constitution’s foundation of equality, and therefore refusing many Americans to serve their country.
Credit/Copyright: Pat Wellenbach, AP
“Equality is the prime rib of America,” asserted Lady Gaga, “but because I’m gay, I don’t get to enjoy the greatest cut of meat my country has to offer.”
More than 2,000 people attended the rally last week. Organized by the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network (SLDN), and supported by the international pop icon, both SLDN and Lady GaGa attempted to persuade the right-winged Senators of Maine Olympia Snowe, and Susan Collins, to vote to overturn President Clinton’s 1993 “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” (DADT) policy.
As Lady Gaga continued her nearly 17-minute, self-written speech, she rebutted the Republican’s “defense” of homophobia, alluded to the infamous death of Matthew Shepard, and recurrently role-played heterosexual dialogues to get her point across. She ended her speech with a single message: “Repeal ’don’t ask, don’t tell’ or go home,” evoking excitement and unification within the crowd.
Four days before the rally, Lady Gaga posted a YouTube video on the topic of DADT. In this video, as in the rally, Lady Gaga is seen wearing relatively ordinary clothes and makeup after a long time—drawing attention to her words, message and sincerity.
To watch her speech, visit MTV.com.
Photo: Pat Wellenbach, AP
Copyright © 2010 Look to the Stars
