So that’s it, then. It’s enough to tattoo “We the People” on our forearms and never read or heed what comes after. Maybe throw in a performative flag background for extra patriotic credit. But lawmakers suggesting military service members actually protect the Constitution and follow the law? Ah … that’s treason. Sedition. Punishable by death. Our Commander in Chief said so, when we were definitely not confusing obeisance to his ego with loyalty to our country.
If you’re not up to speed, in a now-viral short video, six U.S. Senators and Representatives — all veterans — recently reminded service members that their primary duty is to the Constitution, and that illegal orders should not be obeyed. The message is short, positive, simple and unassailable: Protect the Constitution. Do not break the law. Fulfill your oath. The message itself is an act of faith, an expression of continued belief in the animating principles of our democracy, and a feeling that, when tested, Americans will recognize and push back against authoritarian brutalism.
The legislators in question, who include New Hampshire’s own Constitutional lawyer and Congresswoman Maggie Goodlander, did not muddy the waters by suggesting which, if any, past orders may have been illegal, nor did they suggest hypothetical scenarios in which service members should refuse to obey orders. That hard judgment must be made by service members executing orders in myriad situations, each with its own complexities. It’s not easy, by the way. It was not made easier when this administration fired most of the top military lawyers, sending an ominous message about long-term intentions. Good judgment here requires knowledge of specific circumstances, that nagging ethos in the back of the mind at all times, and a hefty dose of dispassionate, critical thinking.
Sadly, these qualities are nowhere to be found among the “common sense” Republican critics incensed by the video. Ironically, many of them are legislators themselves who, obsequiously servile or in thrall to a personality cult, now weirdly find themselves arguing for the execution of illegal orders. I’m looking at you, New Hampshire State Senator and doctoral candidate Sharon Carson. You have backed yourself into an absurd corner.
The six veteran legislators in the video are sensitizing active-duty service members to the possibility that, one day, their unthinking political leaders could order horrific crimes against the American people. Not that any of our current leaders would ever suggest their political opponents are vermin, terrorists or enemies of the state deserving execution, of course. To me, it looks like Representative Goodlander and the other legislators are protecting not just civilians, but potentially confused members who might lose their moral compass in the fray, and who might one day be called to answer for “just following orders.”
Whatever the motive, Republican critics, you should feel free to explain how a short video calling for the lawful execution of orders merits your apoplectic accusations of treason, while a physical assault on the Capitol with the intention of overturning an election somehow does not. While you’re at it, you can explain how a President’s suggestion that political opponents be put to death is not incitement to violence or, at best, a green light for death threats.
In the meantime, I’ll stand with Rep. Goodlander and the others until sanity returns.
Stuart Green is a retired Navy Commander and former candidate for the New Hampshire State Senate.