Military Service And What It Grants

One of the more offensive tactics being used by the left is the chickenhawk meme. It's used to attack those who have not served in the armed forces who support the war. The charge goes like this, "You aren't in the service or a veteran, therefore you have no right to support the war". Of course, logically if we accept that, we must also accept the other side of that coin. If you are not in the service or a veteran you have no right to criticize the military. Seems fair, doesn't it?

Both positions are, of course, wrong. You do not need to be a doctor to hold opinions, pro or con, about medical issues, right? Oh, you're not qualified to do surgery without years of education, but that's not at all the same thing. Conversely if you are a doctor, your education does indeed give you some special insight into medical issues. But it does not grant you unquestioned expertise in all things medical. I'd rather not have an obstetrician doing open heart surgery on me should I ever need it, thank you.

So when I read of John Murtha angrily attacking another House member who is a war supporter, essentially because that other member is not in the field sharing the hardships of the troops, I take offense. John Murtha may be a "decorated veteran" he may indeed have seen some combat – I don't really care. But those things do not grant him the right to be the sole voice opining on things involving the military.

REPRESENTATIVE Patrick McHenry, a 30-year-old Republican from North Carolina, rose during the recent debate over Iraq in Congress and declared that the struggle against "Islamic extremists" was his generation's great challenge. Unlike the "white flag" crowd on the left, he vowed, he would not shrink from the fight.

That was a little too much for Representative John Murtha, the senior Democrat on the House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, an ex-marine and Vietnam vet and also — in the current debate — a leading advocate of a speedy withdrawal of the troops.

"It is easy to stay in an air-conditioned office and say, 'I am going to stay the course,' " he said, angrily, after Mr. McHenry, who never served in the military, was finished. "It is the troops that are doing the fighting, not the members of Congress that are doing the fighting."

While it is quite true Congress isn't doing the actual fighting, our military is and always has been, under civilian control. It is probably one of the greatest overall strengths of our system of government even though it sometimes causes problems. You can – and in fact must – support the troops even if you are not doing the fighting. They are the ones who make your right to have and express your opinions possible. Military service, per se, grants you no special authority. Nor does lack of it deny you a right to support the troops.