Mac-Coleman

23 July 2014 - 

Courage:  Moral and Physical

Every Friday morning I meet with friends at McDonalds in a local Walmart.  These old guys are experienced in business and government, and their views span the political spectrum.  They are passionate and compassionate about life.  They are Americans in the finest sense. I feel good about being accepted as one of them.

Thirty years in an Air Force uniform taught me the strength of the concept being “one of us.”  You take an oath to support and defend the U.S. Constitution against all enemies.  You exhibit moral courage as you honor rules that may not apply to others, risking punishment including possible banishment from among us if you fail.  With moral and physical courage, you do your duty no matter how dangerous or difficult.  Sacrifice and trust are your currency. They make you one with your compatriots.

Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl is not “one of us” to the soldiers of his unit in Afghanistan. He abandoned his post, broke his comrades’ trust, and chose to morally bankrupt his life.  His fellow soldiers honorably and courageously fulfilled their battlefield duties.  Later, their measured, calm words about Bergdahl’s perfidy were telling counterpoints to the President’s White House homecoming celebration with Bergdahl’s parents.  The President did not see Bergdahl’s battlefield failures as important, and thereby, he displayed his ignorance of military culture.  He may be Commander-In-Chief, but he certainly has not shown that he is “one of us.”   

I trust that the Army, up the chain to the Chief of Staff, will follow their soldiers’ example of moral courage as they adjudicate Sergeant Bergdahl’s case.  The Army must strictly follow the Uniform Code of Military Justice and ignore political pressure from an administration that seems to view Duty, Honor, and Country as obsolete chatter.  I trust that those in charge will do their duty.  They know that if they don’t, they will never again be worthy to be “one of us,” no matter how many medals or stars they may receive.  

Who besides members of our military services take the oath of office to support and defend the Constitution and be servants to their sovereign, i.e., the people?  Who besides those in uniform create a cohesive “one of us” culture, a culture built on trust, personal sacrifice, and strict adherence to constitutional rules?   The President and Congress have taken the government oath of office and have declared their duty to defend the Constitution as it is written, no matter the sacrifice of individual agenda.  Doing their duty requires at least as much moral courage as the oath of military office requires of our men and women in uniform.   

But where in our government’s culture are men and women who display the moral courage to defend the essence of the Constitution: the separation of delineated powers, the defense of our borders, and the maintenance of limited government intrusion into our lives and property?  They are few and far between. 

I struggle to find elected officials and appointed bureaucrats whom I can trust to sacrifice personal and party agenda—to resist picking up the phone and the pen—as they fulfill their versions of constitutional duties.

Who among the majority of today’s politicians is “one of us,” worthy of  the praise of the American people?  Their “club” culture is not one of personal sacrifice and trust.  The President, in between fund-raisers, golf, and vacations, does not inspire the American people with courageous decisions in the face of internal or international crises.

Today’s elected officials seem hardly to care if they display to the American people that correct constitutional principles resonate with them, or that the concepts of Duty, Honor, and Country compel courageous compliance.

So, now what?  If you were in Chicago during this election period, you could vote early and often.  In Houston, thank goodness, you show your ID card and vote your conscience.  You solidify your place as one with American patriots, who, alongside my Friday-morning friends, embrace and implement the Founders’ vision of service and sacrifice—to your country, to your community. 

Meanwhile, the “constitutional scholar” in the White House reminds us daily that fund raising, photo ops, and tee times are more important to him than being one of us.