The vast majority of America’s 20 million veterans consider their oath to the Constitution a lifetime commitment, not one that ends with their last enlistment or commission. The regressive forces on the right trying to yank us straight back to the 19th century should keep that fact top of mind. Vets have long been a force for permanent progressive changes in America, despite whatever political party we call home at any given time. We’re obligated to oppose all enemies to our nation’s progress, foreign and domestic.
Vets have long been the crucible by which the founding ideals of our nation were subjected to incredible pressures and forged into a more reliable and sustainable future for all Americans.
When a homegrown group of self-proclaimed anarchists control the levers of power in the federal government and a majority of the state governments, a call-to-arms goes out for many of us. Vets may have come from humble or tragic beginnings, especially true in the all-volunteer military, but we were among the smartest and most motivated of our ragtag group of friends. We recognize the tyranny of the minority when we see it as these radicals finally ripped away whatever mask of civility they used to stay hidden over the years.
We The People can easily identify America’s domestic enemies now, so mitigating their corrosive influence becomes an inevitable conclusion to the current disease. Across the country, women veterans of America’s lingering wars are taking on comfy incumbents bent on our destruction as a people. They are confronting the twin evils of political avarice and civic apathy in a way not seen in modern politics. Midterm primary turnout is up, though not nearly as high as it needs to be for sustained progress.
Poll after poll shows Americans of all ages and political persuasions agree on far more than we disagree. Anemic voter turnout and a 24-7 news cycle turned that reality on its head over the last several decades. Time for America to prove we are far greater as a people than the sum of our varied and colorful parts.