I'm not a veteran in any way but what author and veteran Tom Ridge writes here -- what he says - and how he says it -- makes sense to me:
Bennie Adkins died the other day. The retired Army command sergeant major was 86 and had fought a 23-day battle against coronavirus. A little more than 50 years ago, halfway around the world, Bennie’s heroic actions at the battle of Dai Do in Vietnam resulted in his being awarded the Medal of Honor.
I’ve been thinking quite a bit lately about my fellow veterans. Honorable men like Bennie Adkins. And John McCain. We carried the weapons of war in defense of our nation and our liberties.
In recent days, we have seen images of Americans carrying weapons as part of their protests to immediately reopen society. What are they planning to do, shoot the virus with their AR-15s?
These self-absorbed and selfish Americans complain they are irritated, anxious, bored, upset — unhappy that their lives have been affected by this temporary restraint on their freedoms. Some have even gotten into confrontations with nurses and other front-line health care workers who believe now is not the time to resume normality.
Every day, there are heartbreaking new reports of nurses and doctors sick or dying because of their service to our country. They find themselves at the tip of the spear as we combat this pandemic. That they have to take precious time from getting desperately needed rest or being with their families to counter these protesters makes my blood boil.
Of course, our First Amendment gives them the right to protest. Our veterans helped ensure it. But let’s make one thing clear: It is impossible to characterize the actions of those who are protesting orders to stay at home as courageous or heroic.
In this war against the indiscriminate and lethal enemy, nurses, doctors, ambulance drivers and countless other health care workers are serving on the front lines. While wearing a different uniform, they are surely putting their lives at risk just as I did as a young Army staff sergeant 50 years ago.
As a veteran, I look at these protests with a different perspective and believe many veterans would agree. Some may not. That’s OK. This is America.
Apparently these protesters with their weapons and false bravado — many of whom risk spreading the virus further by refusing to wear masks and standing apart from one another — are smarter than the medical experts. They have decided to ignore the public discussions about incrementally turning our economy back on because it doesn’t fit their personal timetables.
Let's consider that while out of work, and I don’t for a minute minimize the real financial pain this is causing, they are generally confined to their homes, with refrigerators, televisions, the internet and the ability to take a walk, go to the store or just talk to a neighbor.
Let’s also focus for a moment on the millions of Americans who have worn the uniform of this great country, put themselves in harm's way in ways most could not comprehend, and protected the right of these protesters to complain.
And let’s remember those whose service resulted in capture, among them my friend John McCain, who spent 5 1/2 years in the Hanoi Hilton.
That’s 66 months. Our social distancing has not yet reached eight weeks.
Those prisoners of war were not able to take a walk or drive to the grocery store for supplies. Now there may be a few Americans who don’t think our POWs were heroes, but most Americans have a deep appreciation of their service and sacrifice.
The point is this. Your country has asked you to forgo your normal personal and professional routine for a couple of months in the war against COVID-19. No question, it is difficult and sometimes feels unbearable as economic and emotional stress mount each day. But the pandemic in less than three months has taken the lives of more Americans than the total number of U.S. soldiers killed in the Vietnam War.
The entire country is under siege, but you are not in the trenches of France, not gaining ground inch by inch in the Pacific, not slogging through the paddies and jungles in Vietnam, and not taking on global terrorists in desert warfare. And you are NOT prisoners of war. You are at home.
We are citizens of the greatest country on planet Earth. As citizens, we are asked to wear temporarily a unique uniform of service decorated with ribbons for patience, understanding and support of the troops on the front lines.
I don’t think that is too much to ask, especially if we check the history books and remind ourselves that we are a resilient country, and that we can prevail in this battle if we work together.
Politics be damned. No time for it now. We can sort it out later. Same team. Same fight. Let’s get on with it.
Tom Ridge was the 43rd governor of Pennsylvania and first U.S. secretary of Homeland Security. He served as an infantry staff sergeant in Vietnam, earning the Bronze Star for Valor.
In response to Gov Ridge’s query about what are these gun-toting demonstrators going to do with their AR-15’s:
There it is, you just saw it. They brandish their prized killer toys to covet some contrived version of respect they lack the personal standing or fortitude to earn another way. You lack the words, the intellect, the charisma, or the just cause to affect other people in a positive way? Then do what the Taliban does: Grab your gat and tote it around in public view.
Guns and threat of violence are the go-to tools of choice of the irrepressibly ignorant, who will lose the argument by any other method.
A change of pace from the lighter fare typically found on this site.
There is quite a bit there to take in, to work with, and is relevant and well articulated overall.
My post referenced one of my pet peeves presented in the essay- what I like to call the Ugly American prototype: Entitled, impulsive, and especially militant hypocrites who wrap themselves in the flag but do poor service to what it represents. I think, in sum, this is what Gov Ridge was getting at.
They probably believed they were prepared to shoot it out -at least in their minds- but fake heroes pretending courage with guns don’t stand long against professional heroes with tactical advantage. The cops let them have their moment so no innocents were hurt.
I expect some of the them will be identified, and be placed on watch lists.
I have just taken the step of reading your post and then reading all of the responses and comments to it. I am a Marine Corps veteran, and while I was never in combat, I did serve on both US coasts, in Hawaii, aboard ship and in 14 foreign countries during my three tours of duty. After military service, I continued working for the federal government, which extended my list of travel to about 20 countries. Having seen the world, I understand and reiterate what many others have said: I appreciate my country even more after those experiences than I did before. I have always been a patriot by default; I knew no other country growing up, so I had no reference for any thoughts or feelings otherwise. I became more staunch in my love of the US as I served her and because I served her.
When I read the words all of you wrote here, I immediately thought of my sister, 11 years my junior and educated in the liberal system of colleges and universities. She has never set foot outside of this country, and due to our age difference, we didn’t exactly grow up together. She was 7 years old when I joined the Marines, so our bond was stretched even further as I went on my globe-trotting quest of life.
Fast forward almost 25 years later when I had completed my military service and I was married with children, my sister was also married and had children of her own. I lived several states away and I was visiting my hometown, all of the family was gathered together, and in conversation about something or another, I casually mentioned the US flag that I fly over my house. My sister expressed surprise.
“You have an American flag over your house?”
I told her of course I did.
She quipped, “I would never have an American flag over my house or anywhere else; I hate this country.”
My response was both immediate and automatic, “Then why do you still love here?”
“Where else am I going to live? This is the only country I know, I was born and raised here. If I could live in another country, I would.” she answered.
I told her, “You have no obligation whatsoever to love this country, in fact, you have the right to hate it if you want to. By the same token, you have no obligation to live here either. There are 197 countries in the world, which one would you prefer to live in besides the US?”
She was flabbergasted and could not name any other country.
“Well, with so many choices, 197 of them, and with your education and intelligence, you must have already considered options that are better than this one, right?”
”I didn’t say I want to live anywhere else, I just hate where I am. I don’t even know anything about any other countries.” was all she could come up with.
”I‘ve only been to about a tenth of the countries in the world, I can help you decide on one of you need information about them,” I told her, completely facetiously, I might add.
I don’t remember verbatim how the exchange continued, this is all paraphrased, but let it be safe to say that a rift opened on that day that has never been repaired or even addressed. At least a decade has passed and I do not know if her views are still the same or not. I see some of her in the words I read above, even if from a different angle, a different stint.
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SpunkySenior 