Patriotism is Merely Convenient for Some

“Patriotism” is Merely Convenient for Some

I have to laugh whenever the political campaign season begins. Everyone becomes a veteran, and the candidates inevitably trip over each other in asserting who will make the best Commander-In-Chief (CINC). Where were all these candidates when it came time to swear the oath, don the uniform and stand to post? Sadly, besides Senator John McCain none of the other major candidates condescended to military service time. I guess actually bearing the hardships didn’t look too glamorous then. I can already hear the chicken hawks protesting … “there is more than one way to serve America, we don’t need to have served in the military.” The curious thing, though, is why the politicians clamor to be Commander-In-Chief. Why don’t they maintain their fitness to lead the Red Cross or run the Peace Corps? One of the cardinal truths in the military is you cannot ask someone to do a job you are unwilling to do yourself. It’s called leadership. In the midst of all the campaign rhetoric it is plain to see that for some … patriotism is just another card they pull out of the deck, another rabbit that jumps out of the hat. Leadership may be feigned, but to those who have served the counterfeit is obvious.

Look at the Clinton campaign for a moment. You’d think from listening to Hillary Clinton on the stump that she actually respects the sacrifices borne by the military. The record seems to indicate otherwise. Just ask the military attaches who served in the Clinton White House. Air Force Lt. Colonel Buzz Patterson wrote that Hillary banned military officers from wearing their uniforms while in the White House (Dereliction of Duty, Page 93). Funny … I don’t remember that being a part of her stump speech. If she wins the 2008 Presidential election, I wonder if she’ll ban the wearing of the uniform again? Of course, by then the campaign will be over. Presumably, no one will care. For those of us who have worn the uniform with pride and honor it does matter, it will always matter. Throughout her campaign, Senator Clinton has sought to have veterans from the American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) in the photo opportunities for her self-serving sound bites. This is supposed to make her look presidential. It would have been more presidential if members of the Armed Forces did not have to duck into side offices so First Lady Clinton did not have to see them in the halls of the White House. Her “leadership” on the Senate Armed Services Committee shields her personal disdain for anything military, and service members know it.

Military veterans are tired of the lip service we receive from the government we have sworn to protect and defend, and from sycophant politicians who assume we are dumb enough to support them simply because they drape themselves in the flag during the election campaign. Banning the military from wearing the uniforms of our service in the chief house of our representative speaks louder to a veteran than any stump speech Hillary will ever utter. Don’t drink the Kool-aid that says Barack Obama is vastly different either. Michelle Obama may have slipped when she said that for the first time in her adult life she was proud of America … because Barack was running for President. One slip may be understood, but what about when you add his comments about “typical” white people? How are we to understand the words of the pastor whom Obama has sat under for twenty years when he says, “God damn America” (Newsweek, 3/24/08, 50)? Are you kidding me? Rather than being verbal slips brought about by the rigor of a too-long campaign season … we are witnessing the unraveling of an adult lifetime lived in contempt of the ideals veterans have sacrificed and died for up to the present moment. How dare you cheapen that sacrifice with your lies? Obama prides himself on speaking truth to power. How about this truth … while you got a free ride through Harvard Law School, men and women were dying to bring peace to Bosnia and Kosovo, restore sovereignty to Kuwait, and rid Iraq of the maniacal Saddam Hussein. While you were working on a sweetheart real estate deal with Tony Rezko (Newsweek, 03/10/2008, 40), thousands of our troops were dying in Iraq and Afghanistan from IED blasts because the US Congress failed to provide proper vehicle and body armor. Senator Obama now touts his “judgment” in having opposed the Iraq War from the outset. What about the judgment that prevents him from recognizing the blessings of freedom he has enjoyed at the cost of someone else’s blood? Doesn’t that lapse in judgment and basic ingratitude disqualify him from leading our Armed Forces? Many of us believe that it does. Now, I know that it is unrealistic to expect that every Commander-In-Chief will have served in the military, but you’d think that after 230 years of our Republic we would be smart enough to preclude those who despise military service and disdain our way of life. Such “leadership” makes me ill.

Gerry Young
MSGT, USAF, 1979-1990