Attitudes Aren't Free: A Call to Action

In 2010, Attitudes Aren't Free: Thinking Deeply About Diversity in the US Armed Forces was published. In 2017, it was placed on the Air Force Chief of Staff's Reading List. Now, more than a decade later, with tens of thousands of copies in circulation across government, industry and academia, it has become celebrated as a model for engaging in critical discussions on social policy topics that span the spectrum of perspectives on religious expression, race, gender and sexuality with contributions from the brightest voices within the US.
Since publication, the long-standing debates have continued on the proper role of religious expression within military units. We have seen increasing levels of racial and gender diversity in the senior leadership ranks. "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" was repealed by Congress. Transgender military members have since been allowed to serve openly.
Today, we continue to engage the traditional ongoing dialogues but with a new focus on the #MeToo and #BlackLivesMatter movements within society that have ultimately resulted in the transition of power between the 45th and 46th Presidents of the United States. Tomorrow's leaders must not only understand the changing landscape of societal attitudes of the citizens in which they serve, the mandates of our elected leaders that will serve as the Commander-in-Chief of the US Armed Services, but also to best prepare to lead the men and women of the armed services in the most effective manner possible.
Volume I of Attitudes Aren't Free: Thinking Deeply About Diversity in the Armed Forces (2010) offered a framework for improving social policy in the areas of religious expression, sexuality, race and gender by showcasing the complexity through the use of opposing perspectives. Volume II reflects on the progress made over the decade since, but instead of laying the groundwork of a plurality of perspective as in Volume I, Volume II relies on the realities of the national, institutional and personal levels using service members' lived experiences to develop a more robust understanding of
life in the military for individuals from increasingly more diverse backgrounds. Ultimately, though reflective dialogue, Volume II seeks to explore and contrast the current social policies of the US Armed Services with the rhetoric that military institutions continue to espouse around the same topical areas addressed in the first volume. This is a Call to Action.