Those who know me for a long time might think this is an unlikely proposition. But read on for my reasoning. Transcending tribalism might just begin with small practical steps —- and a surprising commitment to open-minded-ness, as well as the truth.
380 East Third Street
Brooklyn, NY 11218
January 16, 2021
Kevin C. Jones
Adjutant General
Veterans of Foreign Wars
Kansas City, MO 64111
Dear General Jones,
Let me start by saying that I’m grateful for the communication I recently received in the Help Veterans fundraising effort. I have, under separate business reply mail, made a $50.00 contribution to further your work on behalf of disabled veterans.
This was not an appeal that I would ordinarily have welcomed, but it did make me reflect on where we stand today, ten days after an insurrection at the US Capitol that surely spits on all that our veterans have sacrificed for in their service. While I can (and do) actively engage in supporting our political process with the utmost respect for democracy and its implicit reverence for diversity of opinion, as we pass from one presidential administration to another now seems a time when those now in service and those who have served to preserve and protect that process deserve my support – in cash.
I will tell you that as I reach the age of 72, my formative experience of America’s foreign wars was Vietnam. I was a formal conscientious objector to that war, based as it was on untruths like the Gulf of Tonkin resolution, flawed theories that were effectively neo-colonialist, and particularly inequitable in terms of the sacrifices drawn from the poor and uneducated while the affluent and college-educated were provided means for avoiding, delaying, or mitigating combat service. I in fact resigned a divinity student exemption in order to make my objection, and performed inner-city “alternative service” under the draft regulations.
A half-century later I have no regrets about that, but feel a sense of having honored a moral code anchored in my faith. But I also feel that there was a sincere patriotism in my choices: a sense that America had a higher calling than “might makes right,” and that any exceptionalism we might claim placed moral claims on us collectively as a nation and individually as citizens.
Still, in my application statement to the Selective Service, I was very careful to distinguish between my objection to our wartime policies and my respect for those who – willingly or under lawful duty – were put on the front lines in Southeast Asia. Similarly, I was careful to note that while (in my view) Vietnam was an “unjust” war under the principles of Catholic theology, other conflicts (notably World War II) had a strong claim to moral justification.
I still maintain such principles. And it is in such a spirit that I’m pleased to contribute to the VFW in hopes that your advocacy and direct support for physically and mental scarred veterans, and for the families of those who, in the words of Lincoln, gave “the last full measure of devotion.” Bravo to you.
And beyond this monetary contribution I am, by copy of this letter to members of Congress and key members of the incoming Biden administration, exhorting them to support your efforts to “fight for hard-earned VA benefits and assistance … in financial relief to cover rent, food, and other essentials… and survivor benefits.” This is beyond partisanship and is indeed a rebuke to the tribalism that has infected our polity, a tribalism which culminated on January 6th in a violent contravention of the oath taken by each member of the military service.
I’m grateful for this opportunity to support your work.
Sincerely,
Hugh F. Kelly, PhD