I am more than a little upset at the actions of our Secretary of Defense GEN Lloyd Austin. His lengthy “stand down” for the military to discuss and contemplate the racism in its ranks was disturbing. Lloyd entered the Army when I did and saw the Army go from racist to a team, as I did. In the early 1970’s we both saw mess halls (now called “Dining Facilities”) where unseen barriers divided the black section from the Hispanic section and the white section. Such dreadful practices have long since faded away. We both saw “detail” assignments being influenced by race, as were promotions and social interactions. Such things have long since faded away. A lot of that had to do with the end of the draft in 1973 after which folks joined up to be a part of the team, not forced by the draft into a situation they did not want to be in.
I have watched Lloyd approve recruiting efforts which are so “woke” and “PC” as to be hilarious, more suited to hiring a mall salesperson than attracting Warriors. He also mentioned that, as an Operations Staff Officer, he would author briefings but have them delivered by a white Officer so that racism would not invalidate his efforts. Such an admission smacks of some deep seated paranoia, more than a little odd for a man of his stature.
But what motivates me to write this is the following quote from his recent address to the graduating Class of 2021 at West Point:
“You know, I might -- I just might have a bit of insight into what
you're facing. A democracy under strain, economic fall out,
painful issues of racism and discrimination, social tensions
and the end of a long and controversial war. Well, that all
sounds pretty familiar to those of us from the Class of 1975.”
Lloyd is a West Point Classmate of mine and has no right to speak for me or other members of the Class of 1975 in such a negative manner.
• I have not been watching a “democracy under strain”. I have witnessed a strong, unique democracy overcome both internal and external threats in an exemplary way. The Civil War put our democracy “under strain”. The attack on Pearl Harbor put our democracy “under strain”. But the lowest minority unemployment rate we saw until recently, the end of North Korean nuclear testing, the signed peace agreements in the Middle East, capture of Raqqa and liberation of Mosul, and so much more hardly indicate a “democracy in strain”. In retrospect, if we are talking recent history, the analysis may be correct. Multiple trillion dollar spending bills, socialism on the rise, incarceration of peaceful protesters while violent criminals go free without bail, violent anti-Semitism, media censorship, and support of Russian oil pipelines while closing our own pipelines do, indeed, cause serious “strain” on our democracy. In any case, speak for yourself please Lloyd.
• I have not seen “economic fallout”. Indeed, I have witnessed a roaring DOW bringing a smile to the face of everyone with a 401K. I did see, on TV, a young lady standing in front of a department store that was being burned saying the looting of the store was “justified reparations” for something that happened long ago. She probably had financial problems, along with host of other problems. But for mainstream honest, hardworking Americans, things have been far from intolerable. Speak for yourself please Lloyd.
• While there are definitely issues of “racism and discrimination” still existent in our society, I do not see them so rampant and so common as to justify the burning of cities and the looting of businesses from coast to coast. Indeed, in the short span of my own life I have seen racial tensions decrease considerably. Well, at least until professional malcontents like Antifa and others found ways of fueling the fires of violence. The existence of twice-elected President Obama and the rise of Lloyd Austin himself, would tend to show how racism in America is decreasing day by day. Again, speak for yourself please Lloyd.
• I’m not sure what “social tensions” Lloyd is referring to. The folks I know love their families and enjoy their neighbors. So I’m not sure where Lloyd is coming from. One more time, speak for yourself please Lloyd.
Lloyd? If you are reading this, feel free to call me about what I am “familiar with” before you speak on the subject to others.
