Nigger Jim

--A young CPT Jim, 
who thought he'd always have a seat at the table

Here was a free nigger there from Ohio --
a mulatter, most as white as a white man 
--The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, 
Mark Twain
 _____________________

Stalag 13, Part Two: Nigger Jim

RAW reader "tw" asked why Ranger would even care to belong to the American Legion (Stalag 13). Simple: because their congressionally-mandated charter assures him a seat at the table. The Executive Committee's rejection of Ranger's petition for membership is denying him his civil liberties.

Following the Legion's refusal of Ranger's application, he asked his attorney if he had any legal recourse; the attorney demurred. Ranger then wondered if his protest was petty, and it was only after discussing the issue with others that he realized his desire to press the issue was entirely appropriate. (The attorney is a good old boy not wanting to upset the apple cart.)

The point of the exercise is that of the 1950's and 60's Freedom Riders. Ranger's petition for membership is equivalent to that of a negro sitting at the lunch counter of a 1963 Birmingham, Alabama soda shop. He is the Little Rock Nine against Arkansas Governor Orval Faubus. He is Rosa Parks refusing to sit at the back of the Montgomery bus. He paid for his ticket.

Whether the people who constitute its membership are largely out of step with his beliefs is not the issue. Whether he wants to sit and drink with them is not the issue. He does not have to like them, nor they, he. The point of a Democracy is that all have equal access and opportunity in the municipal realm. Additionally, that is the only way for ideas to evolve and fraternity to have any hope of flowering: by the abutting of conflicting views in a neutral, respectful setting.

The Legion is congressionally-chartered as a fraternal organization which welcomes all who qualify into its meeting halls. There is not a separate American Legion for disgruntled vets who feel their government has shafted them. There is no "American Legion for Embittered, Screwed Up Vietnam Vets," and one for the happy sots. There is only the one, who's strength can only be had in true fellowship and acceptance. There is no room for acceptance based upon murky liturgical guidance; we have the rule of law to ensure equality for all. Not separate but equal, as Plessy v. Ferguson decided. There is no such animal.

If the Legion is not admitting eligible veterans on the basis of their beliefs, then it is operating in contravention of its charter. If it turns away a needy vet with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) or Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) who might then find himself hanging, his blood will be on their hands, for while they are not a medical organization the brotherhood and guidance they are tasked with providing could be a lifesaver, but only if the life raft admits all.

The American Legion, like so many groups in The United States, has lost its way by operating in an emotional and irrational manner, contrary to its mission. The Legion, like our government, has subverted the foundations of democratic thought. It adopted the exclusionary motto "For God and Country" in McCarthy's 1950's, in reaction to the feared godless menace of Communism, forgetting the basis of our Democracy is separation of Church and State. That separation ensures both freedom of religion, as well as freedom from it.

The Executive Committee of American Legion Post #13 is behaving like the Comintern. Ranger thinks the majority of the Legion members would be appalled by their exclusionary actions, or at least, he hopes so. He was good enough to offer his mind and body for his country and fellows, but not good enough to sit with them as a civilian.

This is not the end of the story.

We Happy Band of Brothers -- Not

I didn't start a war. Nobody died
--Rafael Nadal, on putting his loss to
100th ranked Rosol into perspective
_________________

The Tallahassee Democrat ran an article 9 July about the fraternity to be found at the local Post No. 13 of the American Legion (Veterans Helping Veterans). Of course, in order to feel the love, one needs to be accepted as a member of that brotherhood, which Ranger was not.

He expressed his consternation with his exclusion from the group in a response, which the paper did not publish; we will do so here:

Dear ed.,

Though the American Legion performs many charitable acts for veterans, the group is not the all-inclusive "band of brothers" the writer portrayed.

This veteran had a different experience with our local American Legion Chapter.

The Executive Committee, in secret session, rejected my application for membership. As a retired U.S. Army officer and Vietnam veteran who receives Combat Related Special Compensation for 100% VA disability, one would think I would qualify for membership in this congressionally-chartered veterans organization.

The local chapter refused to explain their decision to me in either verbal or written form. Off the record, a member expressed to me that my anti-war stance was the cause of their decision. Freedom of speech -- the thing we combat vets put our lives on the line for -- was being sanctioned in their dismissal of my application.

I believe the bible and the Constitution are not entwined. I am not homophobic and do not hew to a hard right-wing political view, all of which are contrary to the prevailing notions of what a servicemember should believe according to fraternal organizations like the American Legion. I believe our nation's strength lies in democratic thought.

Like all veterans -- but not all American Legion executives -- I fought for my freedom to dissent.

Dissent is not unpatriotic.

--James Hruska

Gott Mit Uns

Everybody's talkin' about Bagism, Shagism,
dragism, Madism, Ragism, Tagism,
This-ism, That-ism
--Give Peace a Chance, John Lennon

We guard our world with locks and guns
And we guard our fine possessions
And once a year when Christmas comes
We give to our relations
--Rebel Jesus, Jackson Browne
__________________

Ranger hangs out at a coffee shop adjacent to the American Legion Post 13, and recently noticed a sign on the Legion's bulletin board: "For God and Country".

This concept is in their constitution and some of their goals are the furtherance of Judeo-Christian values like family, daily prayer and attendance at weekly church services. This post has monthly in-house church services.

The Legion's position dovetails nicely with a House of Representatives that recently paused from attending to issues like the budget deficit, soaring unemployment and myriad other Gordian Knot problems to reaffirm in a 396-9 vote that the U.S. national motto is "In God We Trust" (reminiscent of the motto on every German soldier's belt buckle in World War II.) Our Founders de facto motto, E Pluribus Unum, got ditched around the time of the McCarthy era Commie scares.

The American Legion is also devoted to 100% Americanism, a volatile cocktail of God-isms and patriotisms. As a former Army man, why do I not remember taking an oath to any God when I joined the military? This prompted the following thoughts:

[1] Ranger is a full patriot, but resents the Legion forcing a god upon me. While I do not believe in god, this does not make me any less of an American.

[2] If there were a God, why would we think He or his Son would particularly favor the U.S.? Is God political? The basis of Christianity is love thy neighbor as thyself, and the U.S. has flubbed that up on numerous occasions. Furthermore, shouldn't that neighborly love be extended to nasty Islamic hadji terrorists? How does the Legion's faith in doctrine -- turn the other cheek, for instance -- comport with modern warfare?

[3] Did God or His Son tell us to preemptively kill, or to torture and kidnap? How do we deify a tortured guy hanging on a cross and not feel empathy for those we torture?

[4] How did my country get hijacked by the God crowd? What do they do with a person like me?

[5] Godliness and patriotism are not synonymous. If one were godly, patriotism would be a foreign concept.

[6] Why do we struggle with aborting a fetus and ramp up the faithful by ascribing personhood to non-people, but have no problem dropping bombs on real people? Is the fetus sacred and actual life, not?

[7] Why would a God of a nomadic, Semitic tribe relocate to America and favor white-skinned people?

Before devolving into absurdity: Why is our nation great because it recognized the need to separate church and state, yet our congressionally-established fraternal organizations force the concept of god down our throats?

That just feels unAmerican.