Veterans Rallying And On The March

The Armed Forces of the United States of America are among the largest and most powerful in the world, and can trace their origins back to the Revolutionary War. They consist of six branches: the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard, and Space Force. The military has been regarded as a non-political entity and the most integrated institution in the country. But like other post-modern factions, it is going through a radical transformation consisting of policy changes that I believe are not conducive to good morale and its original mandate, to fight and win wars.

Since its inception, the military has been a bulwark in America’s defense and has given the nation a sense of national unity and pride in its victories. The rank and file of today's military is mainly a volunteer force composed of young men and women of diverse demographic, racial, religious, and ethnic backgrounds, and are deployed around the world. Under the leadership of the Commander-in-Chief along with the Departments of Defense and Homeland Security, military policies are established and enacted. 

This brief history brings me to a recent article that appeared in the New York Daily News. The author is former military and was a social worker who has counseled veterans, and explains that people have asked him why so many veterans are involved in “white supremacy and militant Christian organizations,” and were complicit in the January 6 (2021) assault on the Capital.

The writer attributes this behavior, in part, to the transition from civilian life to that of a warrior, which he believes deconstructs the individual civilian mandate. He then brings into the discussion the mindset of the soldier, comparing previous wars like Vietnam, with that of Iraq and Afghanistan. The soldier has a tendency to dehumanize the enemy to avoid having to face another human being that might have a family, and thus making it more difficult and lessening the prime objective and dutiful end result.

This dehumanization of the enemy has taken on another dimension when dealing with Iraq and Afghanistan; the insults and smears by the soldier extend beyond the people in those countries they were deployed in, to anyone of Asian or Arab ancestry. The writer gives a caveat, and goes on to say it is important to recognize there are exceptions, and that there are soldiers that manifest exemplary compassion and behavior, respecting local peoples and cultures.

For the record, I would not pretend to tell someone who has served in the military and followed that with a noble and important undertaking in helping and giving aid to the veteran. But in considering the intent of the article, I find that the writer gives the impression that the entirety of his analysis of the military is based more on what someone on the left would have you believe. It is filled with common and usual clichés “Confederate flags, Christian Crusader and Flying Knights logos and crosses” as part of the paraphernalia you might find in gathering places. He adds that there is a “fervent evangelical subculture at the Air Force Academy.”   

The writer says “There is ingrained negativity toward civilians and institutions,” and adds “there is a feeling that our government sends us to war, and our country forgets us after war,” which I could not agree more with. And there is resentment toward Democrats who are “Viewed as anti-military, anti-veteran, anti-Second Amendment, anti-law enforcement, and are socialists.” There are also references in various venues that are made, such as “draining the swamp, alternate political organizations like MAGA, motorcycle clubs and gangs, white supremacists and QAnon,” which veterans are attracted to.

For argument's sake, let us say that perhaps what the writer believes has credibility and is worth serious consideration. What I believe he misses in his analysis, however, is why veterans feel and act the way they do, the real reason. Aside from white supremacy, MAGA, far-right activist groups that preach anti-establishment rhetoric, and all the rest, there may be other reasons to consider why veterans attended the January 6 protest at the Capital.

These American veterans return home to find the country they love, fought, and sacrificed for diminished and disappearing before their eyes. Traditional values and institutions, religious liberty, the Judeo-Christian ethic, all threatened by Democrats, radical progressive leftists, the media, corporate and Silicon Valley oligarchs, and the military they were part of taken over by demagogues in uniform, and social activists who seek to impose critical race theory, transgenderism, diversity, equity, inclusion, and anti-white propaganda. All of this under the purview of the Pentagon and deep-state bureaucrats and malcontents, and then the election of a mentally challenged president who they perceive does not support them.

President Trump was and still is a breath of fresh air, a leader they could follow, and MAGA to them, along with 75 million other Americans, was and still is a rallying cry to take back their country from the anti-American element that must be relegated to the trash heap of history, along with the current president and administration.