You have to feel good that our military
leaders get it.
The associated comfort reassures us, that
while we may have our disagreements on different issues, through it all the
military seamlessly holds true to its principals. It is a sign that despite the level of angry
discourse which only seems to increase by the day, and despite the clear
imperfections in our wonderful democracy, we did get something right in the
creation of our new nation more than 240 years ago. This is no small fete, and it should be
acknowledged and celebrated.
My father served in Africa and Italy in WWII
and several of my uncles were in both the European and Pacific theaters. But there is no way I could say that I was
from a military family. In those days,
everybody served, everybody was equal and everyone did their part. One might observe that they were forced to do
so, forced to put their petty differences aside, and come together to fight for
their way of life. It's hard to argue
this was not a uniting cause, still, it could have gone the other way, but it
didn't. It's why Tom Brokaw referred to
them all as the Greatest Generation.
The descendents of that generation live on
today, and while their numbers are sadly much smaller now, their individual and
collective resolution is much greater.
Along with their families, they represent approximately one percent or
our country who have chosen to serve.
They would tell you they are serving our country, and the principles
upon which it was built. But in the
process, they are serving the rest of us, the other 99% who go about their
daily lives content with letting others do all the heavy lifting. On any given day, they might ask why don't others step up and
make similar sacrifices, or any sacrifices for that matter? While this would be a justifiable request on
their part, we never hear it. It is not
how they lead. Their principles require
them to serve, to sacrifice and to lead by example, but deep down, they must
hold out hope that their actions will inspire others to find a better path.
They know instinctively why they fight, why
they serve, they don't have to stop to contemplate their actions. Their principles are reinforced by their shared sacrifices and
commitment, and most importantly, by their desire to not let their brothers
down, all of their equal brothers.
So it was not shocking to see that America's top-ranking military officers spoke
out against racial bigotry and extremism in the immediate aftermath of
President Trump’s bizarre and controversial press conference on Tuesday, which
was supposed to be about infrastructure, but turned into the latest of many
examples of the Trump Train jumping off the tracks yet again.
[From
the LATimes] The members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff -- the senior uniformed
brass of the Navy, Marine Corps, Army and Air Force -- all posted messages on
their official Twitter accounts to denounce the far-right extremists behind
Saturday's violence in Charlottesville, Va.
The messages did not mention Trump, who is the commander in chief, by
name. But the rebuke seemed clear in several posts given the bipartisan furor
over Trump's insistence Tuesday that "both sides" were at fault for
the violence.
“The Army doesn't tolerate racism, extremism, or hatred in our ranks,” Gen. Mark Milley, chief of staff of the Army, tweeted Wednesday. “It's against our Values and everything we've stood for since 1775.”
For the military, this represented a rare public foray into domestic politics, that revealed growing concerns about the judgement of our current President. And they speed and consistency with which they ALL responded was just another example of their principles on display. While it lacked the visual of a military parade, it was still a show of force, reinforced by a heritage of shared sacrifice and commitment.
Yet as rare as this response was, it was not
the first time the US Military delivered a message to the country that their
values would not be compromised by the man sitting in the Oval Office. Back on the morning of July 25, seemingly out
of the blue President Trump tweeted out that “the United States Government will
not accept or allow Transgender individuals to serve in any capacity in the
U.S. Military”. (See post 54 - Transgender Transgression”
Clearly blindsided by the President’s lack of
comprehension of the impact of his tweet, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen.
Joseph Dunford quickly responded in a statement. "There will be no
modifications to the current policy until the President's direction has been
received by the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary has issued guidance."
It both responses, our military leaders were
reinforcing that shared principal of fighting for the man next to them against
all enemies, be they domestic or foreign.
In both responses, our military leaders were
stepping in to fill the void of leadership created when the executive branch of
our government went off the rails, again.
In both response, our military leaders were
providing comfort to all of us that there is still hope for our imperfect
democracy.
You just have to feel good that our country
still has a few good men who get it.
I do, and I am just so grateful.
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