“A Rose by Any Other Name”
by W.D. Ehrhart “What’s in a name?” Juliet asks in William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. “That which we call a rose, by any other name would smell as sweet.” But what the heck did Shakespeare know? “U.S. Military Bans Men With Girl Names From Participating In Combat,” read a recent headline. According to this story, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth says that gender characteristics, courage, tenacity, dependability, reliability under fire, the warrior spirit, what have you, are all determined by one’s name. And thus, only soldiers with masculine names are fit to serve in combat. Our Fox TV “presenter” and “personality” never completed Ranger School, …