Responsibility and Memorial Day

A veteran who had served as an Army Ranger in Vietnam in 1969-70 happened to be standing next to me at Roswell's recent Memorial Day commemoration.  After I had expressed appreciation for his time in the military and he had noted his good fortune in avoiding the notorious Tet Offensive, he asked if I had been in the military.  When I told him I'd served in the Peace Corps in Thailand, he held out his hand and thanked me for my service to our country. 

This gesture was important to me.  It was the first time anyone, outside Peace Corps officials, had ever expressed such gratitude.  It also spoke to questions I often wrestle with on Memorial Day: What constitutes patriotism?  What is service to our country?  What is the responsibility of civilians toward our military?

I've struggled with these questions on and off for several decades: when I protested the Vietnam War in college; when I spoke with American airmen during my two years as a Peace Corps volunteer in Thailand near an American airbase; when I returned home to participate in a political Left trying to prove our commitment to our country's core democratic values; when the U.S. committed tens of thousands of troops to Iraq and Afghanistan without proper intelligence and equipment; and most recently, when I have witnessed the yawning gap between the lives, prospects, and perceptions of most Emory students (and faculty), and the realities of war and military service as experienced by those who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan.  Unlike in most past wars, the absence of compulsory national service has made it possible for too many of us to ignore issues of military service and sacrifice.

It was in fact these thoughts that led me to Roswell's recent Memorial Day celebration.  The experience was both uplifting and troubling.  On the plus side, there was a general absence of partisan sniping, despite what was probably a largely Republican (and almost totally white) audience; the focus was appreciation for what our men and women in uniform have achieved and sacrificed.  The religious benediction was thoughtful and ecumenical, (the minister expressed gratitude to the Lord for delaying the Rapture so the memorial could proceed).   And I was profoundly touched by the Vietnam vet's recognition of my own service.

My frustration was with the constant refrain that "freedom is not free."   My problem is  not with the refrain itself; I don't question the need for sacrifice to defend our national interests and values.  What bothers me is the implication that the only costs involved are the lives of our soldiers and their families.  These are certainly huge.  But there was no mention of the need for all of us to contribute to the financial requirements of our military.  No hint - perish the thought - that we need to pay more taxes if we want to support our military.

This brought back to me the fact that President George W. Bush put expenditures for the Iraq and Afghanistan wars on a credit card - to be paid in the future - by listing military expenditures under "supplementals."   It brought back images of members of Congress lambasting anyone who didn't wear an American flag pin while refusing to come to grips with the actual costs of their patriotism.  It brought back to me yard signs exhorting us to "support our troops" without ever implying that such support would involve anything more than...yard signs and lapel pins.  And it brought back to me an episode of NPR's Car Talk, when "click and clack - the tappet brothers" - got a phone call from an Army Master Sergeant in Iraq asking for advice on how to ensure that the suspension in U.S. army trucks used in convoys didn't break down in the sands of Iraq. Talk about "lack of preparedness."     

Part of the issue here is the responsibility and accountability of our elected officials.  Let's be proud that President Obama enacted accounting changes to ensure accurate reporting of federal spending.  Let's applaud his decision to include spending for the Afghan and Iraq wars in the budget, not "emergency supplementals."

But let's also confront our own duty to pay for what we ask for.  Let's be accurate about our allegedly heavy burden of taxation.   The effective tax rate - total federal revenues divided by gross domestic product - is the lowest it has been in over 60 years  (http://www.cbo.gov/doc.cfm?index=12130); it is also the lowest of any industrialized country (http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/05/31/are-taxes-in-the-u-s-high-or-low). Let's be clear about who pays their fair share.  Let's keep in mind that while the U.S. top corporate tax rate is one of the highest in the world at 35 percent, large companies use tax credits and shelters to cut their tax liabilities.  With global profits of $14.2 billion, of which $5.1 billion came from U.S. operations, GE not only paid no U.S. taxes.  It received a tax benefit of $3.2 billion http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/25/business/economy/25tax.html.

So when we commemorate the sacrifices of our men and women in the military, let’s the rest of us be responsible about keeping up our end of the bargain.  That is part of being a good citizen.