From the WSJ Opinion Archives

by JAMES TARANTO
Tuesday, November 28, 2006 3:24 P.M. EST

Responding to Rangel
"The National Commander of The American Legion called on Rep. Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.) to apologize for suggesting that American troops would not choose to fight in Iraq if they had other employment options," says a press release from the legion:

"Our military is the most skilled, best-trained all-volunteer force on the planet," said National Commander Paul A. Morin. "Like that recently espoused by Sen. John Kerry, Congressman Rangel's view of our troops couldn't be further from the truth and is possibly skewed by his political opposition to the war in Iraq." . . .

"These brave men and women lay it on the line every day for each and every one of us, for which I am very grateful," Morin said. "Their selfless commitment for the betterment of our world from radical extremists is beyond commendable. It's time for members of Congress to stop insulting our troops. . . ."

Some of our readers, responding to our item yesterday, took Rangel's disparagement personally. Here is Brian Bartlett:

I have a message for Mr. Rangel; I will not use the term Honorable with him. At age 17, I had already had seven years of college and university education for which I had received 3 1/2 years' credit due to the vagaries of our educational system and I was teaching at the university for those 3 1/2 years as well as working as a professional consultant starting at $40 per hour, a rather princely sum in 1974.

Following family tradition--my mother, father, grandfathers and beyond had all served--I entered the United States Navy nine days after my 17th birthday. There followed an education second to none in various fields of engineering including nuclear. The training was intense, essentially cramming years of engineering into six months, and not very many were left at the end of the school even in my section, the best and brightest. The civilian world has no equivalent; graduate school is a joke by comparison, and I should know, having been through both.

Despite my disabilities that resulted in my discharge after over 13 years of service, I am subject to recall to this day, and should they call, I will answer willingly. Unlike, apparently, Mr. Rangel, I know what is happening on the ground over there, as I have kin there to this day. I have been to the Middle East several times, and my sister served in Saudi Arabia and Iraq for the First Gulf War. In my family we serve, peace or war, because that is what we are and what we do. It's not for money, it's not for the educational benefits after the service, which in my case were laughable. He can go peddle his contempt elsewhere.

Patti Sayer adds:

I am the mother of a fine young man, an American soldier in the U.S. Army Reserve, who risked his life in Iraq for 14 of the longest months of his and my life . By the way, he just re-enlisted for another eight years. I also happen to be the Air Force brat daughter of a Vietnam vet. I grew up in Europe while my father defended that ungrateful continent from attack by the Soviet Union.

My father's brother served on the USS Louisville in World War II, and his turret was struck by a kamikaze during the Battle of Surigao Strait. He was grievously wounded. Another uncle spent a miserable year of service in Korea in 1951. I guess you could say that my family has sacrificed a lot for this nation. So when I hear Rep. Rangel imply, in essence, that my son, father and uncles served only because they had no other economic choices or were too stupid to know what they were doing, I get angry.

As for the issue of the Iraq war, how dare Mr. Rangel denigrate my son and his fellow soldiers as nothing but a bunch of uneducated, patsy, losers, being manipulated by an evil George Bush? He makes their sacrifice appear to be that born of ignorance and poor upbringing, and I am deeply resentful of his attitude. My son is not stupid, and there are plenty of economic opportunities where we live. It is apparent that Mr. Rangel perceives himself as smarter than my poor dumb son, who voluntarily joined the military and who is honored to serve our nation in spite of Mr. Rangel's contempt.

And here is Ben Kohlmann:

I think the comments attributed to Rep. Rangel reveal not only the mindset of liberal policy makers in relation to the military, but also their view of what I like to call "duty to the self." Those that achieve the greatest academic achievement usually tend to be the most self-centered, imagining their indispensability to the world as a whole. Why should someone give up four years (or more!) of comfort and high earning potential to be subjected to months away from family, cramped living conditions, and the legally binding orders of others? In our modern, liberated, self-centered mind, such a thought is inconceivable.

Much of this is fostered in the academic environment they are indoctrinated into. This view, in and of itself, is at odds with the underlying selflessness that must be present for an effective member of the armed forces. So I don't so much take it as insulting as revealing a gross negligence in comprehending the true nature of sacrifice.

I am a young naval officer, and for the record, I graduated with both Latin and departmental honors from a top 10 university. I was named "Greek Man of the Year" and held numerous leadership positions throughout campus. One of my good friends, who happens to be a Marine just back from Iraq, won the freshman writing award at the same institution, and also graduated with honors. My peers in our squadron's ready room have masters degrees from MIT and Ivies. My best friend earned a graduate degree from Stanford before his current service in Afghanistan. My roommate's wife, a Marine signals-intelligence officer, recently finished up work at Cambridge in chemistry stemming from a Gates scholarship.

We are all under 26, and had we so chosen, certainly could have had the "option of having a decent career" apart from the military. I cite these things not to egotistically promote our individual accomplishments, but only to show that I personally know the representative is wrong.

He scoffed at our true willingness to fight. Ironically, as an aside, since the beginning of the Iraq war, my only desire has been to get over there and fight, but to no avail, as my current military obligations have me training elsewhere. Anyway, we fight because we recognize that the best years of our lives are better spent serving something bigger than ourselves than serving selfish ends. We fight knowing that for all the hardship and tears shed over being away from loved ones, the defense of our Republic, and even the giving of our lives, is far more worthy than going through life focused on wealth and pleasure.

It is undoubtedly true that to the last, we all would like nothing better than to settle down, have a family, and raise them in peace, being there for every birthday and anniversary. We, too, would like to pursue jobs that pay tens of thousands more per year than we currently receive. I can't tell you how many times I've looked at my friends in law school and other prestigious professions in envy at the "opportunities" they have while I "endure" months of boredom.

But it is also true that there are men and ideologies in the world that would like nothing better than to rip those things away from many in our population who enjoy such blessings. We will not stand idly by and allow that to happen. Our educational and academic accomplishments make us more duty bound to serve the country that enabled us, better than any other, to realize our full potential. These past few years of service have encompassed the greatest struggles and most trying times of my entire life, but ultimately, that is the cost of defending an ideology of freedom. Indeed, it is that cost itself that brings true value to freedom.

The San Francisco Chronicle profiles someone with a similar attitude:

If Dr. Martin Holland had his way, he'd be in Iraq right now. In Fallujah or Ramadi or Baghdad. Up to his elbows in blood and brain matter, operating on Marines and soldiers with severe head injuries.

As it happens, it's unlikely the doctor will find himself hovering over a battlefield operating table. But he has a strong desire to serve -- to do something for the troops suffering severe combat injuries. Instead of teaching residents and interns how to stop intracranial bleeding in San Francisco, Holland is wearing Navy whites and operating on sailors and Marines in San Diego.

Holland is not an 18-year-old who joins the Marines fresh out of high school. He's 44, and he quit a prestigious job as director of neurotrauma at UC San Francisco. But there are similarities: Both put aside personal lives to enlist in the military.

They also serve who stand and operate.

"When I was a kid, I loved stories about knights in shining armor," he said. "There was something very appealing about the ideals of honor, courage and all that kind of stuff.

"The only thing I saw in the modern world that was even close to that code of chivalry was, one, the military, and two, was medicine with the Hippocratic oath."

It's noteworthy that few if any of Rangel's fellow Democrats have stepped forward to defend his bigoted statements. Further, when John Kerry* said something similar last month, he didn't even have the courage to stand by it and instead claimed to have been talking about something else entirely.

On the other hand, we haven't noticed many Democratic politicians or liberal commentators repudiating what Rangel said--in sharp contrast to the way Republicans and conservatives responded to Trent Lott's infamous comments about Strom Thurmond four years ago.

* 667 . . .

Holbrooke: Stay the Course (but Not in Iraq!)
Richard Holbrooke, who served as ambassador to the U.N. during the Clinton administration, writes from Tbilisi, Georgia**, that America must stand behind the Georgian government, which is under threat from its erstwhile masters in Moscow:

The European Union and the United States must make the continued freedom and independence of Georgia a test case of the Western relationship with Russia. [Russian president Vladimir] Putin must learn that we will not sacrifice the interests of a small country that has put its faith in Western values for the sake of energy supplies or U.N. votes. If Bush's freedom rhetoric has any meaning, let him prove it in Georgia, not just with polite calls for mutual restraint, but with real pressure on Moscow and the assembling of a united front with the European Union to make clear to Putin that he must cease his attempts to destabilize Georgia and overthrow [President Mikheil] Saakashvili. In the age of Iraq we must show that our nation can continue to have influence elsewhere in the world and that we will not abandon our friends or our values.

We find this very persuasive and hope President Bush heeds Holbrooke's advice. But Holbrooke's support for emerging democracies is selective. In an August column, he urged "the unwinding of America's disastrous entanglement in Iraq in a manner that is not a complete humiliation and does not lead to even greater turmoil":

President Bush owes it to the nation, and especially the troops who risk their lives every day, to reexamine his policies. For starters, he should redeploy some U.S. troops into the safer northern areas of Iraq to serve as a buffer between the increasingly agitated Turks and the restive, independence-minded Kurds. . . .

And we must be ready for unexpected problems that will test us; they could come in Turkey, Pakistan, Egypt, Syria, Jordan or even Somalia--but one thing seems sure: They will come. Without a new, comprehensive strategy based on our most urgent national security needs--as opposed to a muddled version of Wilsonianism--this crisis is almost certain to worsen and spread.

So Wilsonianism is bad for Arabs but good for Caucasians? This nuance stuff is hard!

** Rose, not peach.

The Dole in Crisis
"As the state's welfare caseload continues its two-year nosedive, new evidence shows that fewer than 20% of potential Wisconsin Works clients receive any cash aid," the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports. It sure sounds as though Wisconsin Works (or "W-2," as it is affectionately known) works. But not according to some:

The W-2 trends have prompted critics to renew their call for reform or a radical restructuring of a program that costs the state about $600 million a year.

"Where does all the money go?" said Pat DeLessio, a Legal Action of Wisconsin lawyer and member of a state W-2 review panel. "This is a stupid program. . . . We just process people in and out. We don't do very much for them."

Critics of welfare have long complained that it promotes a culture of dependency. Critics of welfare reform make clear that this was precisely the point.

The Secret Word
"Black leaders challenged the entertainment industry, including rap artists, actors and major studios, to stop the use of the racial slur that triggered the scandal involving 'Seinfeld' comic actor Michael Richards," the Associated Press reports from Los Angeles:

The Rev. Jesse Jackson, a civil rights leader, and others said Monday they will meet with TV networks, film companies and musicians to discuss banning the racial slur that is a derogatory term for blacks. They also sought an effort by the public to stop using the term.

Just one problem: The AP never tells us what word we're supposed to stop using. There is a reference to the "n-word," which we guess narrows it down a bit. After consulting the Racial Slur Database, we've decided never again to use the word "Nordski," in case there are any black Scandinavians.

What Would We Do Without Polls?
"Poll: Kerry Ranks Low With Voters"--headline, WCVB-TV Web site (Boston), Nov. 27

Grunt
"Women Talk Three Times as Much as Men, Says Study"--headline, Daily Mail (London), Nov. 28

Bad News for Younger Female Humans
"Older Female Chimps Sexier"--headline, New Vision (Uganda), Nov. 27

Still 100%
"Cutting Back on Smoking Won't Cut Death Risk"--headline, HealthDay.com, Nov. 28

If It Were a Policeman, This Would Be News
"New Police Dog Excels, Especially in Bite Test"--headline, Exponent (Purdue University), Nov. 21

At First They Thought It Was Just Déjà Vu
"Canadian Parliament Recognizes Quebec"--headline, Associated Press, Nov. 27

Beer Makes You Friendly

"Suburbs Focus Hard on Miller"--headline, Toronto Star, Nov. 22

"Suburbs Friendlier in Study"--headline, Daily Herald (Everett, Wash.), Nov. 27

Bottom Stories of the Day

Zero-Tolerance Watch
"Two students are suing to return to school after they were expelled for making a movie in which evil teddy bears attack a teacher," the Associated Press reports from Knightstown, Ind.:

The teenagers were among four students expelled from Knightstown High School over the movie, "The Teddy Bear Master." Two of the boys are asking a federal judge in Indianapolis to order the students reinstated, arguing that school officials overreacted to a film parody and violated their First Amendment rights.

But Knightstown Principal Jim Diagostino and Superintendent David McGuire don't see the humor, and note that the teacher who is threatened in the movie has the same last name as a real teacher in the district.

There is nothing funny about evil teddy bears.

(Carol Muller helps compile Best of the Web Today. Thanks to John Lott, Deane Hartley, David Weaver, Dick Egan, C.E. Dobkin, Steve Bartin, Bruce Goldman, Don Stewart, Michael Zukerman, Ethel Fenig, Andrew Robinson, Dan O'Shea, Mary Ann Lomascolo, Mark Schulze, Ed Diaz, Brian Grabowski, Ken Pieper, Joseph Abdy, John DeVita, Greg Askins, Andy Hefty, Marion Dreyfus, Joseph Dispenza, Robert Murphy, Jerry Rhoden, Tom Bonetto, Andy Phillips, Brian Azman, Joseph Tully, Alan Utter, Mark Finkelstein, Curtis Edmonds, Brian O'Rourke, Jacob Lybbert and Brian Ross. If you have a tip, write us at opinionjournal@wsj.com, and please include the URL.)

Today on OpinionJournal:

  • Review & Outlook: Massachusetts Democrats love Venezuela's strongman.
  • Brendan Miniter: Can Mitt Romney spur a broader debate over marriage?
  • Om Malik: The right software and strategy can create their own thriving economic ecosystem.

Click to email this article EMAIL THIS Click to format this article for printing FORMAT FOR PRINTING
ARCHIVE