A mini and painful rant about Trump's overtly racist attacks on the US military and our deceased heroes.
TAT readers,
The comments below I originally posted for family and friends, on another platform, but thought that sharing here was an even better opportunity to express my deep disgust, frustration and painful hurt, by the actions of this hideous, un-American regime in the White House.
The comments revolve around a news report a few hours ago, about how the Department of Defense has removed all digital links to the legacy of a black, MOH/ Medal of Honor awardee from their website and records. As the comments below indicate, this is exceptionally painful for those of us serving or have served our nation with honor and with distinction. For those of us with combat experiences over the past couple of decades, this is a sellout of all that we risked our lives for.
I cannot be silent in the face of the indefensible. No one should. Trump’s racist actions and sellout of our national security to Putin, are a sucker punch to all service members, active, reserve, guard or Veteran and their families. If we wish our country to once again honor her values and her constitutional commitments to her citizens, we must act soon, collectively and with purpose, or there will be no more American republic.
I will be blunt and speak from the heart in defense of our troops, Veterans and especially those who are not white males.
There is no longer a hint of morality or patriotism left in today's, completely immoral GOP. Our diverse military has been a courageous social flag bearer for decades, that allowed all Americans with the proper qualifications, to serve their nation. Removing the links and legacies of all, non-white service members from the Arlington National Cemetery registry last week, was galling, and a knife through the heart of honorable veterans that honor their oath of service. Today's reporting takes such racism to a whole other level.
Voting for a man that despises our military, destroys the infrastructure that does the hard work of supporting us and labeling us "losers and suckers" wounds those of who serve or served painfully. Your damn egg prices, dishonesty about inflation and lies about the border, may have moved you to vote for this purely immoral and anti-American administration, but you now have the opportunity to restore your honor, by helping us who saw this clearly for over a decade, remove him and his Putin-serving administration from office.
Am I angry? Yes. Am I hurt? Yes, and deeply, just like every other single honorable Veteran. Most Americans don't know or understand the deep psychological connection to our nation and its values, that those in uniform experience. This is especially true of those who served their nation during wartime. The battlefield is the great equalizer. No, we do not take this insult lightly.
Overtly racist actions taken against our most prestigious combat heroes, cannot be justified, not by egg prices, dishonesty about the border nor rabid, mindless dedication to a party, rather than country.
Servicemembers are human beings too. My friends and colleagues that perished on the battlefields of the past couple of decades, did not perish so that the immoral could destroy the very nation, they gave their all for.
I know that I sometimes anger family and friends with comments like this, but if I, who shared those battlefields with those extraordinary American warriors won't stand up for them, who will? In the military, we leave no one behind. This includes that their heroic legacies, do not get left behind either.
Sincerely,
Paul
For recent additional essays on this topic, please see below: