We are informed that free speech is dangerous and that it leads to hate, instability, and mayhem. But this disingenuous argument is the argument of tyrants, who gaslight and use words as weapons to disable a free people. Free speech is the salvation of an open, prosperous, and civil society and the embodiment of the sustaining benefits of negative feedback loops.
The DOD mismanaged the Covid mandatory vaccine program, which degraded morale and negatively affected recruitment goals. Now is the time to rectify these abuses and welcome rather than punish those men and women who choose to serve the country but exercised their rights under the Nuremberg Code. Exerting financial pressure, failing to offer administrative services, and ostracizing these service members will discourage enlistments and further erode the public’s confidence in the United States military.
Integrity, trust, and honesty are character traits that are unwisely discarded to curry fleeting favor with the press and political establishment. The political general, who employs the language of the quibbler, obscures the truth and makes the boundary between politicians and military leaders indistinguishable.
In view of the sincerity of the cadets’ religious objections and the adverse risk-to-benefit profile of receiving the Covid vaccine, what is the purpose of forcing these cadets to subject themselves to a procedure that affords them and those around them no discernible benefit? Is the purpose to provide reasoned, compassionate medical care or simply demand submission or even to purge them from the ranks?
Military leaders must insist upon the truth, abide by principles guaranteeing human rights, and ask appropriate questions regarding the welfare of members of the armed forces. How could any commander not do so? To state “I am just following DOD or CDC guidance,” is no excuse. This behavior is not the mark of leaders of character, who are entrusted to lead the men and women of the armed services.
