Show Me Your Face

 

            Over the 4^th of July a group named, “Patriot Front,” staged a march in Washington DC. During the march they wore a uniform of khaki pants, navy blue shirts, and tan baseball caps emblazoned with the group’s logo. Of note, they all wore masks. It reminded me of the white hoods of the KKK in the first half of the twentieth century.

            The white hoods performed two important functions. They increased the terror of the victims through the inhuman specter of hooded shapes, and they provided anonymity for the participants, shielding them from identification and possible prosecution. These hooded figures with their violence and burning crosses terrorized Black citizens and those who supported them. In more modern times, terrorists employ the same tactic for the same reasons.

            All of us understand this dynamic. We want to protect our identity when engaging in nefarious activities. Criminals operate under the cover of darkness. Other nefarious actors cover their faces hoping to avoid identification. We know in our souls that what we’re doing is shameful and do our best to protect our identity. We want to avoid accountability. Knowing that there are many around us who would take umbrage at our participation in such activities, we take steps to insulate ourselves from identification. Such are the signs of cowardice.

            Some may argue that masks protect participants from “doxing,” the publication or use of personal information for the purpose of harassment. And while the fear of doxing is valid, wearing a mask to protect your identity calls into question how committed you are to your cause. After all, our founding fathers and other patriotic heroes faced dire consequences should their cause have failed. Hiding your identity behind a mask calls denigrates the justness of your actions. After all, if you truly believed you were doing the right thing, why would you hide?

            Hiding behind a mask or a hood broadcasts the moral bankruptcy of a cause. It tells all observers that participants fear identification with the cause. If the cause were just, then those who support the cause would feel comfortable identifying with the cause. Masking protects your identity but undermines your belief in the honor of your actions. When deployed to Iraq in 2003, I frequently wore either sunglasses or the goggles issued by the Army. In fact, they still adorn the helmet that I wore. Iraqis often complained about them, believing that I wore them to avoid identification and to appear more menacing. Though I continued to wear them while convoying around Baghdad, I did make sure that when I spoke with Iraqis, I took them off. I believed then, and I still do, that the basic causes and goals of our deployment were just.

            Like the citizens of Baghdad in 2003-2004, I suspect those who hide their faces of not truly believing in the justness of their cause. The mask preaches more loudly than any words that they might utter in defense of their actions. It also tells me that they seek to intimidate more than they seek to convince. Their cause being fundamentally flawed, they must resort to intimidation and a menacing appearance. So I say, if you want me to take you seriously, then take off your mask. Stop hiding. Stop trying to intimidate. Stop menacing my fellow citizens.

Hero or Villain?

            I have seen a variety of memes portraying MAJ Watson as a hero. Perhaps he is; but, we must also take into account the fact that he violated the Uniform Code of Military Justice, better known among service members as the USMJ. What most civilians do not realize is that when one becomes a soldier, sailor, marine, or airman, one gives up or accepts limitations on certain civil liberties, among them is free speech.

            For example, it is against the UCMJ for members of the armed services to speak against the president, our commander in chief and other specified members of the government. For service members to speak against the commander in chief exerts a corrosive effect on the chain of command and the good order and discipline of the service. We are required to obey lawful orders and have the right and responsibility to disobey unlawful orders, but that is something different than criticizing the commander in chief. Some may think that this is a severe curtailment of a service member’s civil liberties, and it is. But this is part of the sacrifice required of a life in the service of our nation.

            This is why we in the military often refer to it as, “the service.” We accept and embrace this concept. We may not agree with our orders, but unless they violate the law or in extreme cases our conscience, we must obey. We may not have voted for the person who holds the office of President, but they are our commander and chief and due the respect of the office. We serve, ultimately, at the pleasure of the President. I served every president, from Regan to Obama. All of them made decisions that I liked and decisions that I did not like; but, I served them all and accorded them the respect due their office. It was all part of the discipline required of a life in “the service” of something bigger than I am.

            Major Watson was led away in handcuffs. Should he find himself in front of a civilian judge, he might mount a successful defense based on freedom of speech; however, I would expect that a military court would find him guilty of violating the appropriate portion of the UCMJ. So the questions remains, is Major Watson a hero or a villain?

            As a civilian, I’m tempted to hold him up as a hero, someone who took great risk to proclaim his thoughts in a very public fashion. As a retired officer with over twenty years of active service, I would say that he’s a villain, or guilty of a criminal offense at the least. For a member of the armed services to stand up in uniform on the nation’s capital and call for the impeachment and removal from office, of the President, his commander-in-chief, is a criminal offense and does not improve the situation in any way. So while I may admire his courage and commitment, I do not respect his judgement.

            We live in a time filled with disagreement and division. Our duly elected president directs the military to take what seem to be questionable actions. There are mechanisms in place to deal with such contingencies; none of which include demonstrating on the steps of the capital. And that is the challenge of a life devoted to military service, in order to uphold the oath to protect and defend the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic service members must give up access to some of the fundamental rights contained therein. Back to the questions at hand, hero or villain?

            It all depends upon how Major Watson responds. Civil Disobedience is a time-honored method of protest. When one engages in civil disobedience, one takes actions that are against the law, willingly accepting the consequences of such actions. Should Major Watson accept the punishment meted out without complaint, serving his sentence, then he is a hero. Should he contest the results, claiming freedom of speech, then he is a villain, someone who broke the law and seeks to avoid the punishment. In this era of hyper-individualism, we may be tempted to label him as a hero, someone who stood up to an authority figure we disdain; but, we would be wrong. As they say, the ball is in his court…hero or villain. 

   

True Patriotism

 

And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.

            Flags, bunting, and fireworks will festoon this day of celebration. Our nation turns two-hundred-and-fifty today! Despite our shortcomings, it is still a day of celebration. Many of us will post the obligatory chest-thumping-patriotic-memes. I’m certainly not against an outward display of patriotism. I’m flying my flag, the flag the Army gave me when I retired after twenty-seven years of military service. I’m proud to do so. I like to think that I’m a patriotic man. But I often think about how we define patriotism.

            Merriam-Webster defines patriotism as: love for or devotion to one's country. That’s a good definition; but, I like the closing of the Declaration of Independence. It is a more active definition, one that inspires and requires something of the individual.

            It is easy to step out on my porch and fly “Old Glory.” It is another thing to work to make my nation a better place. That idea of sweat-equity and sacrifice is often missing from our displays of patriotism today. Sadly, we’ve become self-centered and venal only willing to support those displays of patriotism that serve our individual purposes and wants. We need to reinvigorate a sense of national service and belonging to a larger community.

            The patriotism of our founding fathers included self-sacrifice. They believed that what they were doing was worthy of supreme commitment. They willingly gambled their fortune, their personal honor, and yes, their lives. That level of commitment drives a nation to develop into something bigger and better. Our foundational documents proclaim an aspiration to greatness; something we strive to realize through toil, labor, and sacrifice. That kind of patriotism makes us a better nation, a nation worthy of our continued support and effort. The lessor chest-thumping patriotism may look good but fails to deliver on the bold promises that our founding fathers made.

            Today, on this most auspicious of days, let us take a moment to read those stirring words, the words that call us to a like level of patriotism, and reignite the fires of liberty that have grown dim in recent years. Let us fan those flames into a torch that expands the borders of liberty, that increases the freedoms of the disenfranchised, and inspires us to even greater works to lift the downtrodden into the light of a better future.