Foreign
Apolitical Soldiers Tire of Bombast
The ‘ nationis the strongest when it is united ’, as said by US President Joe Biden , holds true for all nations . The thought matters !
BHOPINDER SINGH
There are frequently interchanged political expressions like the Right-wing , nationalistic or conservative , to suggest a certain typology in democracies , globally . Amongst the “ Uniformed ”/ veteran communities , empirical data does suggest a historical bias towards these socially conservative ideology , hence the traditional traction towards Republicans in the US or the Conservative Party in the UK . In the 2016 US presidential elections , the Vets gave Donald Trump a 60 % -34% advantage over Hillary Clinton and , in 2012 , John McCain held a 54 % -44% advantage over Barack Obama . But the tumultuous Trump era ( 2016-2020 ) of ostensibly “ muscular ” politics had an unprecedentedly reverse impact on the Veteran sentiment — the more inclusive , measured , and reasonable tone of Joe Biden , swayed the Vets favourably . Misplaced swagger of calling some fallen Veterans “ suckers and losers ”, denigrating Gold Star families ( eg Khizr Khan ’ s ), recklessly interfering in the Military affairs
18 Legacy India | June 2021
( eg misconduct of SEAL Edward Gallagher ), shunning professional advise ( eg Defense Secretary James Mattis on Syria ) or trying to usurp the hallowed imagery of the Soldier under a partisan flag ( eg General Mark Milley ’ s apology following an inadvertent photo-op ) was ultimately too much for the patriotic Veterans to support a divisively polarising agenda , that can play havoc with the proudly united and apolitical ways of the “ Uniform ”.
Biden ’ s consistent line that the “ nation-is-the-strongest-whenit-is-united ” gained deep traction from the Veterans who exemplify the regional , ethnic , and religious diversities . Even though Biden has had a mixed record on Veteran affairs , his humility and inherent decency with words like , “ We must do more than rattle our sabers and demand allegiance to our vision simply because we believe we are right ” was unusually resonating , pacifist and conciliatory — it still cut ice with the Veterans , who had tired of Trump ’ s thundering and
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