By Rudy Barnes, Jr.
President Trump has proclaimed
May 1 as Loyalty Day. The proclamation
states, “The United States stands as the world’s leader in upholding the ideals
of freedom, equality and justice,” and goes on to praise service members and
veterans who “…pledge to protect and defend our Constitution against all
enemies, foreign and domestic.”
Loyalty to God and country is a fundamental
American value, but coming from Donald Trump it seems ironic, if not insincere. Trump’s obsessive concern for his own interests
at the expense of others has been a hallmark of his business and entertainment
career. It was evident in his reality TV
show, The Apprentice, where Trump relished
telling contestants, “You’re fired.”
Trump’s supreme confidence in
himself and disdain for criticism has also been evident in his politics. At the Republican convention Trump proclaimed
that “I alone can fix it [the system].
Since then he has demanded obsequious loyalty from Republicans and shamelessly
berated and threatened all who have questioned his policies—including federal
judges.
During the campaign Trump was
compared to fascist demagogues like Mussolini and Hitler, who, like Trump, exploited
public fears and hatred to gain personal power that put them beyond the reach
of public accountability. It’s truly
amazing that so many people in the U.S. ignored Trump’s obnoxious, deceitful
and bullying characteristics and elected him president.
Trump has stated his political
objectives in terms of his personal happiness.
He has said he will be unhappy
if North Korea conducts any further nuclear tests, and commended its leader as a smart cookie for eliminating his
opposition. Trump has also commended other
international strongmen, like Russia’s Putin, Egypt’s El Sissi, Tukey’s
Erdogan, and the Philippine’s Duterte.
Trump’s outlandish and erratic
foreign policy has undermined U.S. national security by poisoning the domestic politics
of important allies. Public opinion in
Mexico and South Korea has turned against the U.S. and threatened decades of
foreign policy successes in those nations.
Trump avoided military service,
but if he had served he would have learned the meaning of loyalty and duty in protecting
and defending the Constitution, and might better understand the paradox of an
authoritarian military in a libertarian democracy. Those in the military must sacrifice their personal
freedom and risk their lives to defend the freedom of all Americans.
Loyalty is the first of seven Army
values: Loyalty, duty, respect, selfless
service, honor, integrity, and
personal courage. Those altruistic values
stand in stark contrast to the self-centered values of Donald Trump and his supporters
and should be required of all politicians, with the president and
commander-in-chief of America’s military forces at the top of the list.
Those Army values are grounded in
the greatest commandment to love God
and to love our neighbors as we love ourselves, including those of other races,
religions and political preferences. That
love command is a common word of
faith for Jews, Christians and Muslims, and all of them serve in the U.S.
military, where no religion is given preference over others.
The military has been a harbinger
of social change in America. It has provided
a model for civilian society to eliminate the evils of racial discrimination,
and it can do the same for religious discrimination. The military prohibits religious proselytizing,
such as the banner at the Air Force Academy in 2005 that urged football players
to play for “Team Jesus Christ.”
President Trump was elected by
Christians, who represent over 70% of Americans. They, more so than Trump, need
to understand the meaning of loyalty and duty to God and country. In an increasingly pluralistic world democracy
requires a politics of reconciliation; but those Christians who supported Donald
Trump created more division than reconciliation.
Concepts of loyalty and duty reflect
a nation’s values and its standards of legitimacy. If Americans ignore their loyalty and duty to
God and country and support divisive demagogues like Trump, they do so at their
peril. The ideals of freedom, equality and
justice require leaders who respect others and promote the altruistic values of
selfless service and integrity.
It will take a political and
religious revival—or a revolution—to restore altruistic values in America. Since most Americans are Christians that revival
must begin in the church. Loyalty and duty
to God and country require that the altruistic teachings of Jesus take
precedence over exclusivist beliefs that promote religious and political
division rather than reconciliation.
Notes
and commentary on related topics:
On Trump
proclaiming May 1 as Loyalty Day, see http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/04/28/trump-proclaims-may-1-as-loyalty-day.html.
On Trump’s assertion that “I alone can fix it” as
“the single most frightening, anti-democratic phrase of modern presidential
history”, see https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/one-final-election-plea-on-the-behalf-of-us-ideals/2016/11/03/4975a1c4-a1dd-11e6-a44d-cc2898cfab06_story.html?wpisrc=nl_headlines&wpmm=1;
see also https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/following-the-path-of-despots/2016/07/22/c41b2896-5047-11e6-a7d8-13d06b37f256_story.html?wpisrc=nl_opinions&wpmm=1.
On Trump as a fascist, see https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/this-is-how-fascism-comes-to-america/2016/05/17/c4e32c58-1c47-11e6-8c7b-6931e66333e7_story.html?wpmm=1&wpisrc=nl_headlines;
see also https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/trump-isnt-hitler-but-the-united-states-could-be-another-germany/2016/12/05/9f026004-bb15-11e6-91ee-1adddfe36cbe_story.html?wpisrc=nl_opinions&wpmm=1;
also https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/donald-trump-is-actually-a-fascist/2016/12/09/e193a2b6-bd77-11e6-94ac-3d324840106c_story.html?wpisrc=nl_headlines&wpmm=1.
On Trump
praising international strongmen, see https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-keeps-praising-international-strongmen-alarming-human-rights-advocates/2017/05/01/6848d018-2e81-11e7-9dec-764dc781686f_story.html?wpisrc=nl_headlines&wpmm=1.
On Trump’s outlandish positions and erratic foreign
policy turning other countries against
the United States, see https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/trump-is-turning-other-countries-against-the-united-states/2017/05/04/40bbe7a6-310b-11e7-9534-00e4656c22aa_story.html?wpisrc=nl_headlines&wpmm=1.
On the paradox of an authoritarian military in a
libertarian democracy, see chapter 5, Military Legitimacy: Might and Right
in the New Millennium, pp 88-89, posted as a Resource at http://www.religionlegitimacyandpolitics.com/p/resources.html.
On Army values, see https://www.army.mil/values/index.html.;
on their relationship to military legitimacy and leadership, see chapter 5, Military
Legitimacy: Might and Right in the New Millennium, at http://www.religionlegitimacyandpolitics.com/p/resources.html.
On prohibited proselytizing at the Air force Academy
in 2005 that was acknowledged by its superintendent, LTG Rosa (now retired),
see http://www.denverpost.com/2005/06/05/afa-chief-has-work-ahead-tackling-team-jesus-climate/. LTG Rosa is now president of The Citadel.
On the
greatest commandment as a common word of faith, see http://www.religionlegitimacyandpolitics.com/2015/01/the-greatest-commandment-common-word-of.html.
On the
politics of loving our neighbors as love ourselves, see http://www.religionlegitimacyandpolitics.com/2016/01/the-politics-of-loving-our-neighbors-as.html.
On religion,
democracy, diversity and demagoguery, see http://www.religionlegitimacyandpolitics.com/2016/03/religion-democracy-diversity-and.html.
On religion
and a politics of reconciliation, see http://www.religionlegitimacyandpolitics.com/2016/05/religion-and-politics-of-reconciliation.html.
On the need
for a revolution in religion and politics to make the greatest commandment a priority of faith and politics, see http://www.religionlegitimacyandpolitics.com/2017/02/the-need-for-revolution-in-religion-and.html.
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