Editor’s Note: It is clear but chill down on the farm. Breathtaking beauty, oblivious to our antics down here on the still-green ground. Today, we share the penultimate day in the national election carnival. It has been spectacular. Vote if you haven’t. God Bless America.
– Vic
Loyalty
What is loyalty? And to whom or what are we supposed to be loyal?
Strictly speaking, loyalty is faithful devotion to a person, an idea, a belief, a nation, etc.
But what does it mean in practical terms?
The Catholic Church just marked All Saints Day (November 1st). While Saints are each given their own day to be remembered – their Feast Day, All Saints Day is set aside to remember all the Saints, known and unknown; everyone who has in fact reached heaven. It also serves to jog memories of this or that Saint that you find particularly inspiring. And at a time like this – a few days before our quadrennial election, one Saint who bears recalling is Thomas More.
More was a lawyer, a judge, a writer and, in his final role for King and Country, Henry VIII’s Chancellor.
Since More’s time that position has changed a bit; during the 16th century the Chancellor was the King’s chief minister and was responsible for the day to day running of the government. More did an exceptional job in all things save one – from the King’s perspective.
You know the story: Henry wanted a son, Queen Catherine failed to provide him one and, after six pregnancies that resulted in only in one living child – Mary- Henry started to wonder what else he might do to get a son. The answer was obvious to him, get his marriage annulled and take another bride. Long and short, More opposed the annulment. Eventually, this led to Henry splitting from the Catholic Church, marrying Anne Boleyn, and More losing his head – literally.
What is of note to us as we head into our elections are More’s last words before the executioner did his work: “I die the King’s good servant, but God’s first.”
Which is another way of saying that we need to do the morally correct thing rather than what serves our own interests.
Hopefully, that doesn’t mean we need to literally risk our necks on Tuesday, but there’s a connection here. Until the day of his trial More defended his position within the law. He remained loyal both to the law and to the nation; More was only convicted of treason because of the false testimony of Sir Richard Rich. More never actually broke any law. He remained loyal to the king, to the country and to the law.
Meanwhile, from Washington we hear story after story of “insiders” who are working to slow or undermine or disrupt the Trump administration, and have done so since January, 2017. Interestingly, they all seem to believe themselves to be patriots.
They’re not. Quite simply, they took an oath to defend the Constitution and to obey the orders of those placed over them. That doesn’t mean they need to like the people they work for. We’ve all had bosses we didn’t like, bosses we didn’t respect, bosses we thought were idiots. So what? None of that gives you the right or the authority to undermine their policies. Doing so is, at the very least, dishonest.
This is particularly true for retired Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines. A retired Soldier or Sailor isn’t the same as a retired Postal Worker. The Soldier receives what was first called “half pay” as an “insurance policy.” If the nation needs him again he can be recalled to active duty to provide further service to the nation. What is called “retirement pay” is, in fact, a retainer. Retired military personnel are still “in the pay” of Uncle Sam, and are still subject to the UCMJ – the Uniform Code of Military Justice.
This isn’t to say that they can’t speak out on issues and disagree with policies; if General Jones thinks the President’s policies on soybean exports is wrong, he should feel free to explain what is wrong about it.
But that doesn’t give him freedom to suggest a President should be removed from office.
It’s true that retired Admirals and Generals who show disrespect to the President – any President, or suggest actions outside the Constitution – are unlikely to ever be charged with violation of the UCMJ. But in the end they have brought disrespect on themselves and disgraced the uniform.
In the movie “Seven Days In May,” President Lyman (Frederic March) confronts the would-be coupist General Scott (played to perfection by Burt Lancaster) and asks the key question of any would-be coupist in a representative government:
Then, by God, run for office. You have such a fervent, passionate, evangelical faith in this country – why in the name of God don’t you have any faith in the system of government you’re so hell-bent to protect?
Indeed, that question can be asked of a number of people who have seemingly sought to undermine the administration from within (as well as retired senior officers who have voiced support for such people and such actions). They take their pay but abuse their oaths – and the Constitution. If, indeed, they think the President’s policies are wrong, and they find they can’t support them, that they can’t do their jobs, then they need to leave government.
And as for those, such as a number of retired Admirals and Generals, who still receive “half pay” (in fact, far more than half pay), who are still on retainer, if they wish to work against the President, then feel free to run for office. Take your lumps in the political arena. But wrapping yourselves in the flag and then attacking the very system that still pays you is both repugnant and immoral.
Unlike Thomas More, your loyalty is to neither God nor “your King;” your loyalty is, one suspects, only to yourselves.
Copyright 2020 Arrias
www.vicsocotra.com