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Dan Gallagher - April 29, 2008
Veterans Viewpoint
This is Dan Gallagher with Veteran’s Viewpoint.
This is my ‘blue moon’ broadcast, that is, my once-a-year two-commentaries-in-a--single-calendar-month broadcast. I use these annual ‘blue moon-ers’ to talk of something that might seem slightly out of order, as in ‘once in a blue moon’.
Out of sequence though it may seem, today I want to comment, AS A VETERAN,
on the statements of and controversy surrounding Reverend Jeremiah Wright.
The reverend, a U.S. Marine for several years during the Vietnam War, made remarks publicly and from the pulpit that were quite disparaging about U.S. government policy, as well as about some specific national leaders. A black American, Rev. Wright remains understandably angry about the historic treatment of African-Americans, from slavery to the subtle and nuanced racism we are seeing in this presidential election.
While it would be politically prudent for Senator Obama’s campaign if the reverend would not further inject himself into the elective process--in effect, just stop talking--nonetheless his words and presence make a valid statement that cannot and should not be ignored.
The bottom line, it seems to me, is this: Most of what I have heard of Wright’s comments, with some notable exceptions, are totally valid, factually accurate, and pertinent--for example, that our government lies to us [DUH!], and that the most war-like of our leaders never put themselves in harm’s way as they are now doing with other less-privileged Americans’ sons and daughters. Granted, some of Wright’s words and allegations, and his style of rhetoric, have been inflammatory, especially to those of us not used to that type of free-flowing emotional speaking--and, in fact, some of his remarks have been really extreme and rather ludicrous.
But it has been political motives that have made this a contemporary controversy.
Overwhelmingly, those who have condemned Wright, Obama’s pastor for twenty years, as unpatriotic for his criticisms of American leaders and policies do so to trash candidate Barack Obama’s presidential campaign by association.
In my mind, this is not only dirty politics, it is an injection of racism into the presidential campaign. The fact that both Wright and Obama are African-Americans has added extra fuel to this manufactured fire.
The truth is that Jeremiah Wright served his country honorably in wartime. How can anyone now dare criticize him as unpatriotic because he now chooses to exercise his God-given and Jefferson/Madison articulated right to free speech? Just because some of us may not care for, or be familiar with, what he says or how he says it does not certify him as unpatriotic.
And who among us holds the title of ’Chief Judge of Patriotism’? Hell, as Wright himself has so accurately pointed out, many of his critics, as well as many of those implementing the policies that he decries--including those now sending America’s sons and daughters to die in this imprudent and illegitimate war in Iraq--used privilege and position and wealth to avoid military service and wartime danger when they, themselves, were presented with that opportunity. Our sitting president found a way to assure that he would never face the enemy’s bullets in Vietnam by joining an Air National Guard unit at a time when joining the Guards was a guarantee against going to Vietnam--”legal draft-dodging” the late newsman Harry Reasoner once called it. Tell me just how patriotic that was!
Reverend Wright is a veteran who did his time, and he has earned the right to speak, even if his words offend some of us. And, although I do believe that his continued public appearances and statements are counterproductive and make his image even more offensive to many, he does not deserve to have his patriotism questioned. Veterans everywhere, of all political persuasions, should be indignant about what is taking place. One of our own, a fellow veteran, is being verbally assaulted, in a manner that totally demeans his military service. As a group, and as individuals, we veterans should be speaking out against this.
An equally disturbing aspect of this controversy is how unfair--how
un-American--it is to subject a candidate to what I see as a form of religious
intolerance--a modern-day version of ‘Know-Nothingism’.
Since when do we hold a parishioner/congregation member liable or responsible for all comments made by his pastor over a twenty-year period? This conduct smacks not only of racism, but of the application by some of a religious litmus test as well, in short, a very sinister form of religious bigotry. I have not seen this level of political nastiness in my life, although I do recall a time when similar rhetoric did overtake a presidential campaign.
When I was just entering high school, John F. Kennedy was running for president. As only the second serious Catholic contender for the nation’s highest office in American history, Kennedy’s religion was openly and covertly questioned and condemned. He was asked about the role and the remarks of the Pope and of Cardinal Cushing, and of the potential role of Catholic clergy and Catholic doctrine in a Kennedy Administration. He understood, articulated, and supported the concept of church/state separation, but even that was not enough for some anti-Papists. His association with his church nearly cost him the election, and I still recall how offended I--an Irish Catholic teenager--felt by the unfairness of it all.
Now, sadly, it seems that some Americans are drifting down that same narrow road of intolerance again, this time with race as an added factor.
America’s veterans proudly fought for, and American soldiers died for, our precious rights, and the American concept of justice and fair play, especially relative to our belief systems and to human equality irrespective of race. For Americans to divert, even temporarily, from those principles is an affront to every man and woman who ever wore a uniform or who made the supreme sacrifice in our name.
We don’t have to agree with the rhetoric or the beliefs of others but, as Americans, we have a sacred duty to respect the rights of all to speak or worship as they would. To do otherwise is to defile the graves of every American who gave his or her last full measure of devotion, and defame every veteran who ever served.
America’s veterans deserve better than this; America deserves better!
This is Dan Gallagher with Veteran’s Viewpoint.
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| Northwest Area Foundation Grant Funds News Reports on Poverty Issues |
Over the next two years the Montana Public Radio News Department will be presenting regular feature stories about issues of poverty in Montana. This project is made possible with a two-year, $78,500 grant from the Northwest Area Foundation. The funding will enable Montana Public Radio to add a half-time reporter to its staff for the duration of the project, as well as cover costs for field recording equipment and travel throughout western and central Montana. News Director Sally Mauk says, “I’m excited about the project and the opportunity to get our news staff out to many Montana communities to report on such an important and timely topic.”
The Northwest Area Foundation approached Montana Public Radio with this opportunity for funding coverage of poverty issues, after beginning successful projects with Minnesota Public Radio and Seattle’s KUOW last year. The Northwest Area Foundation’s mission is to help communities in an eight-state region (including Montana) reduce poverty. www.nwaf.org.
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