Contempt For Our Republic: Not How Americans Go to War
In 1947 as the world recovered from the devastation of World War II Winston Churchill stated, in the House of Commons, “democracy is the worst form of government – except for all the others that have been tried.” Churchill was a monarchist and an imperialist at heart but recognized, with all its flaws, democracy was the only way forward. We are now being reminded, again, why that's important.
What was so revolutionary? Americans declared that we are citizens not subjects. There were many factors that led to the American experiment with democracy. Chief among these were to give the people the freedom to avoid the devastating religious wars of the 17th century and the arbitrary wars (for marriage, monarchical successions, commercial interests, ego…) that sacrificed subjects to the whim of a monarch. And yet, here we are.
Iran A very brief history for context: Iran went from being a constitutional monarchy and rescuer nation of Jews during the Holocaust to a terror regime of extremists, sometimes informed by Nazi ideology with the 1979 revolution. In between, Iran, due to its proximity to the USSR (Soviet Union) and its oil it was treated as a piece in geopolitical maneuverings – in either the British or Russian sphere of influence.
After World War II Iran expanded its democracy but remained under the control of British oil companies. In the 1950s the U.S. negotiated with the Saudis to conclude a 50/50 profit sharing of their oil sales. When the Iranians asked the British for a similar deal, the British, still reeling from World War II, said no. The Iranians nationalized their oil industry. The Brits worked with the CIA to overthrow Iran’s democratic leader with Operation Ajax. They succeeded and elevated the Shah to full authority.
Iran became one of the largest buyers of U.S. military hardware, rapidly modernized, and began to repress their people with secret police while oil revenues went to the few as the wealth gap expanded rapidly. This led to the 1979 Revolution that has wreaked so much disaster, terror, and horror. It created an existential threat to the democratic state of Israel and the world.
Above: The U.S. hostage crisis (1979-1981). Iranian revolutionaries kidnap American embassy personnel in Teheran.
Americans Go to War Article I, Section 8, Clause 11 of the U.S. Constitution grants Congress the exclusive power to "declare War" and grant letters of marque and reprisal. It is in the first article because the American Revolution invested sovereignty, the authority to run a state, with the people. The people whose taxes would be used and who would have to sacrifice themselves had to consent. The king was no longer the sovereign authority and specifically could not unilaterally involve the nation in conflict.
Since World War II each president has to various degrees ignored this. This is the first time that a president and his political party simply didn't care.
Callous disregard for Americans I would argue that we are witnessing an attempt to wrestle sovereignty away from the people and reinstall it in the hands of oligarchs and kleptocrats. We see this when Supreme Court justices like Justices Neil Gorsuch site precedents that preceded the American Revolution and argues in favor of corporate power over individual rights, the right to discriminate, and loosens protections against sexual harassment. And now, Secretary of Defense (not War as they arbitrarily renamed it) Hegseth dismisses conventional "rules of engagement" as "stupid".
Restraining military action, protecting civilian life and international law is what distinguishes us from Iran or Russia. It is also practical. These conventions have kept us safe and have protected our own service members and citizens who are in harm’s way.
On March 4, Hegseth attacked the media who asked why he did not recognize the deaths of six service members. Hegseth was annoyed that covering troop deaths would be a distraction. A distraction! He referred to reports of the deaths as "fake news," stating, "When a few drones get through or tragic things happen, it's front-page news. I get it, the press only wants to make the president look bad but try for once to report the reality".
Service members did not sacrifice their lives to make the president look bad. Leaders know the gravity of ordering people into combat. But Hegseth and others in this administration dismiss the sacrifices of our soldiers, sailors, and airmen while seemingly enjoying waging war. We, and they, deserve much more.
War of Whose Choice? We are spending billions and killing many in a war the American people have yet to authorize let alone understand. War should be the last resource not the first reflex. This blog will not assess the decision-making other than to point out that we are at war because the president just decided it was a good idea. That is not how Americans go to war.
The administration’s anger and annoyance at the media and the public for asking why, reveals their contempt for their sovereign people. Their children are not in the service, (indeed military service is insulted as something “suckers” do) and it appears they have little concern for other people’s children.
Above: In 1964 Eisenhower visits the graves of those he ordered into battle at Normandy. Had the invasion failed he would have resigned and taken responsibility: "If any blame or fault attaches to the attempt it is mine alone."
Feeling the responsibility to those who sent into battle, he, the Supreme Commander, broke into tears in 1952: [They] "never knew the fear that grips your insides", then correcting himself, "They knew it. But they went ahead anyway."
President Trump, on the other hand, acknowledged but dismissed the casualties quickly moving on to say that deaths are “likely” and that we will just have to accept more. He then used a Medal of Honor event to talk about draperies and his ballroom for the wealthy.
Guns or Butter In 1953 President Eisenhower warned, "Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies, in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed". We must defend ourselves with the Department of Defense and effective Homeland Security. And yet, the intelligence services have been purged. FBI director Patel fired the counter terrorism experts focused on Iran in the CI-12 squad in an attempt to demonstrate his loyalty to the president. Homeland Secretary Noem was exposed as corrupt and incompetent while also directing ICE away from their normal charge to attack U.S. cities instead. Thomas Fugate, a 23-year-old, is in charge of combating violent extremism. His qualifications? He was a Trump campaign worker who interned at the Heritage Foundation.
My Turn We are witnessing the gutting of and purging of our security apparatus because they are not seen as loyal enough to the leader. Loyalty is much more important than competence. That is how monarchies and authoritarian systems operate and fail. That is why democracy, oversight, sovereignty with the people, is so much better.
We have seen Americans forced off health care, have their taxes raised as corporations and wealthy individuals benefit. It is a massive wealth transfer that will continue to destabilize the nation because it is fundamentally anti-democratic. We are less safe, less confident, less happy.
To site, again, the preamble of our Constitution, the statement of what our revolutionary idea is: We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.
We are loyal to each other, our Constitution, and our leaders represent us. We are not subjects. We cannot betray this noble experiment. We are being challenged to reaffirm and maybe even rediscover what our ideals are. We still have elections where our sovereign voice can be heard. That voice is complex and pluralistic.
Kintsugi The Japanese, like so many in our diverse society, have contributed new ideas and other ways of looking at things. This is what strengthens us. Their art of Kintsugi (golden joinery) repairs broken pottery with lacquer mixed with powdered gold, silver, or platinum. In this way, the cracks aren’t hidden. Repair comes from shattering and woundedness. This is another concept of beauty and healing. It is seen as beautiful because we can see the flaws and build something from the brokenness.
Brokenness is not the end. We are all in need of repair. We need to tap into this wisdom. There are many cracks and breaks in our democratic experiment. When we are honest and face the flaws we can build something better.
