Republicans Don’t Give Two F’s About Veterans
Republicans’ “love” for veterans is just nationalism in disguise
I could have focused the article on Senate Republicans refusing to support a bill providing health care for veterans exposed to burn pits during their service. They eventually succumbed in August of 2022 after John Stewart and other news organizations brought the issue to national attention.
13% of the adult homeless population are veterans resulting in 40,056 veterans being homeless on any given night. Over 460,000 veterans spend more than 50% of their income on rent. 20% of military veterans that served in Iraq and Afghanistan suffer from major PTSD and/or depression with 19% suffering from CTE. Over 1.5 million veterans live below the poverty line.
Meanwhile, Republicans at the state and federal levels are actively restricting policies to create more affordable housing, more accessible mental health care, and decrease wealth inequality. All issues which directly impact many suffering veterans around the country.
However, that’s not the topic I want to focus on in this article because that would make a boring policy breakdown. What I want to cover is how Republicans flock around the greater symbolism of “The Soldier.”
Republicans prove time and time again with their policies that they care very little about the individual suffering and pain of veterans. What they care about is honoring the idea of soldiers as a collective because as a collective soldiers put a face to American nationalism.
As a symbol, “The Soldier” reminds us of strength, perseverance, heroism, and other positive traits that conservatives want us to associate with our country and history. The idea of “The Soldier” is supposed to channel an idea of this powerful masculine figure who projects his strength and virtues to others while protecting the ones that he cares about at home.
“The Soldier” or the country that “The Soldier” symbolizes is supposed to make the people it cares about feel safe and for that those people are supposed to trust and honor them to make the best choices for the rest of us. If this description is triggering an image of a Freudian or religious Father in you then you would be correct but in this, the symbol is supposed to generate a sense of trust and reverence for the State.
This is why in America the symbol of “The Soldier” historically has only been reserved for strong, straight, and masculine-white men. Because the symbol has to represent the tradition that the country honors and that is the only identity that has historically been revered. This is why the American public allows the disrespect of soldiers and veterans that don’t live up to this identity of what a soldier is supposed to represent.
Explaining why conservatives weren’t offended when Pres. Trump publicly tweeted offensive remarks at transgendered soldiers and veterans because many conservatives don’t see transgendered soldiers as legitimate soldiers. In the same way, conservatives didn’t react when Pres. Trump created actual policies designed to push trans soldiers out of the military because for many conservatives these people are trans first, not soldiers and veterans first. Whereas strong, straight, and masculine-white men who serve are veterans and soldiers before all else.
Some will argue that this is a singular case with trans soldiers only and there are other non-identity factors leading to Pres. Trump’s and others’ opinions on trans soldiers in the military, but there are preferences with other groups. Women and gay soldiers were heavily stigmatized, doubted, and disrespected by voters and politicians in America alike during the process of integration into the military.
Not to mention the long history of abuse and lynching that were perpetrated on Black World Wars veterans in the Jim Crow South. Black veterans experienced widespread doubt and racism due to their identity up through the Vietnam War.
Clearly showing that America has problems acknowledging any veteran that doesn’t possess the identity of strong, straight, and masculine-white men. I think the most glaring reckoning that conservatives have to face about their fake love of veterans is the fact that veterans can possess all of those identities, but can’t live up to their cultural idea of “strong,” and will still be discarded due to not living up to the symbol of “The Soldier”.
I could reinforce the fact that conservatives largely ignore the suffering of veterans across the country but Pres. Trump and his continued support from his followers have more glaring examples of disrespect to soldiers and veterans.
Pres. Trump, stated on camera and in front of a group of people, “I like people who weren’t captured” in reference to Sen. John McCain being captured during the Vietnam War. Pres. Trump also reportedly called American soldiers who died “suckers” and “losers”. Yet with this grave disrespect to veterans, conservatives voted him into the White House once and almost did a second time.
Soldiers who are poor, captured, mentally ill, homeless, and suffering from CTE and suicide, don’t fit the identity of strong and, therefore don’t live up to the conservative symbol of what a soldier is supposed to be. Reinforcing the importance of “strength” and victory when cultivating the symbol of “The Soldier.” Remember the military refused to view CTE as a legitimate injury because mental health injuries were seen as a weakness and a fault.
So, when Pres. Trump or their politicians ignore them, it’s not an insult to the symbol and therefore not an insult to the national identity.
The most ironic part of this all is while Pres. Trump was actively disrespecting soldiers and veterans, conservatives largely ignored the actions of the person they voted for and attacked NFL Quarterback Colin Kaepernick for kneeling during the national anthem. So the question is why?
The answer is that Kaepernick kneeling attacked the identity of the country. By taking a knee he, on national television, called America “imperfect” and made nationalists face the reality that our country has problems that it needs to address. If you grant that what Kaepernick was doing was legitimate then you have to grant that America and its symbols carry the stains of past and current sins.
For many conservatives, that act is indefensible. You can make fun of individual soldiers who were captured or killed but attacking the concept of America and insulting our symbols is a disrespect that touches too close to home.
To many conservatives, Kaepernick’s knee was less of an insult to soldiers and veterans, because as we showed they are okay with that, but an insult against nationalism and their identities as Americans.
