The Military can Drive Social Progress

by | Aug 2, 2021 | Politics | 1 comment

In a country where conservatives have long been suspicious of centralized institutions, the military has been a bastion of trust. Going to war for America is considered the apogee of loyalty, courage, and virtue, so when our armed forces make a foray into new cultural worlds, their willingness to take risks softens the apprehension that conservative Americans feel toward social change. We have seen this pattern again and again going back to at least the Civil War. And in the nation’s “most military-friendly state,” we are seeing it again.

Plagued by racial friction from the day General George Washington expelled Black troops from the Continental Army, the military has at key moments helped to empower oppressed Americans. General George C. Marshall objected that attempting to improve conditions for Black sailors would undermine unit cohesion, but Thurgood Marshall still achieved success in mollifying the Navy’s racism. President Lincoln was convinced that Black Union veterans deserved the right to vote, a judgment that led to his assassination. And the sacrifice of African American World War II veterans helped reconcile the white North to full citizenship for the Black South.

More recently, the experiences of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans have helped to erode the stigma of brain disease. A few years ago the Pentagon updated its policies so that traumatic brain injuries would make servicemembers eligible for the Purple Heart. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder has been recognized as a common scar of combat, and the visibility of veterans afflicted with the disease has helped change Americans’ conception of who suffers from mental illness. Stigma is still everywhere, and military PTSD is nothing but a tragedy, but we have once again seen how the symbolism of an American soldier can change our culture in unexpected ways.

North Carolina styles itself the nation’s most military-friendly state. Culturally, this is surely true, and the state does bristle with military installations. Nevertheless, until recently, the progressive influence that accompanied the military experience had been spotty in our state. A returning Vietnam veteran was brutally murdered in Oxford in an incident later publicized by the book Blood Done Sign My Name. In the same era, future General Colin Powell, a native New Yorker, was shocked by the racism he faced while stationed in North Carolina. Even the sword and shield of American liberty could not slay the dragon of Southern backwardness.

Until now. Tucked into state Senator Bill Rabon’s medical-marijuana bill is a provision that allows veterans with PTSD to access the new treatment. The bill allows only veterans to use medical pot for mental illness; this is a bit illogical. But it demonstrates how even a persistently ableist legislature can be opened to new perspectives by the force of military courage. The NCGA has cut the state’s Division of Mental Health by 17%, contributing to a rise in suicides since 2010. It was the military that inspired the first progressive move the state has made on mental health in over a decade.

To be sure, the Armed Forces are a fundamentally conservative institution. Warfighting on behalf of a nation state will never be progressive, even if it is necessary and just in tragic circumstances. But the United States military has long contributed to social change in this country, and it is foolish to deride recent reforms in the military as “woke” when they are really the next link in a long chain of modifications that made us a better nation. Take it from North Carolina.

1 Comment

  1. Russell Becker, former Capt. USMCR

    Alexander, if you served in the military, your experiences have led you to view things differently than my views. One day, I asked my African-American platoon sergeant, who I chose for the position over another S/Sgt., why he remained as a career Marine despite what we both could see was a great deal of mostly covert racism within USMC. He answered that compared to his opportunities in civilian life, he had more opportunities which were part of the regulations within USMC. While the amount of racism has varied with the various eras, it still exists, as it does in civilian life.

    Much of the social progress you have cited has not come about so much as programs within the military as it has been changes within the Veterans Administration. We vets had to fight like hell to get the VA and the services to recognize the fact that Agent Orange had devastating effects on some vets and their families. Again, vets had to fight (and are still fighting for improvements in) programs for PTSD treatment. The same has happened with regard to “Gulf War Syndrome,” due to toxic effects of burning oil fields.

    As an attorney in civilian life, I came to learn of a program that the government used after nuclear testing FOLLOWING WWII. Soldiers were transferred from their duty stations to the southwestern states where atomic bombs were tested. One (1) hour after the blast, my client and several other soldiers were marched WITHOUT RADIATION PROTECTIVE GEAR through the crater produced . During this TAD (“temporary assigned duty”), these men were given temporary “atomic” SRBs (service record books). When they were sent back to their former duty stations, the temporary SRBs did not follow. In their permanent SRBs, only a notation was made that they were on TAD for the specified time–no mention was made of their duties. Many of these men and their descendants developed various types of cancers in greater numbers than in the typical American population. My client introduced me to several other former solders who had formed a group they called “atomic veterans.” My efforts and those of other attorneys resulted in a denial by the U.S. Army and other agencies that no such records existed. I have no idea if any progress has ever been made to help these vets.

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