A veteran’s thoughts on Trump et al

Having just read the NYTimes article on veterans supporting Trump, I must say that I’m more than saddened. Part of me is angry at the Times for not looking for other veterans who stand against Trump and his Islamaphobia. But this subsection of veterans they show does exist—as my Facebook feed can attest to. Perhaps it’s a matter of wishful thinking on my part to hope that we didn’t fall for Trump so hard. [1]

The Times’ article takes a look at the veteran-civilian divide and in doing so manages to dredge up a plethora of memes and beliefs that run through the veteran community. That these have led veterans to favor Trump — despite his incoherent ramblings on policy— by a large margin troubles me.

Yet the more I think about it, the more I see legitimate grievances [2] about politicians and how the civilian-veteran divide magnifies those grievances. I just don’t agree with the idea that Trump is the answer to that. Even if his character is such that he’ll speak up about how the Iraq war was wrong, that doesn’t mean he was against it then, or that he has the wherewithal to keep us out of another war. In fact, his talk about defeating ISIS and Islam only leads me to believe that it will be worse than before. [3]

That Trump’s showmanship has also led these veterans to back him — after all he raised millions for them — is another point that seems to shine, but in the end, how much does that matter? How much will he actually try to improve the VA (which has an issue of under funding more than anything else), is again left out of this picture. Of course, it speaks to how tone deaf other politicians are, and how most of us veterans know that we are usually used as props by these politicians. But one need only look at how Trump has talked about specific veterans (who cross him) to see that much of what he does is for show.

My final complaint is that as a group of people who ostensibly signed up to fight for their country, that is for the people of this country, [4] there was limited talk about what Trump’s policies would do to our economy and to our fellow citizens. I find this discrepancy to be the most unappealing. We, of all people, should care very much about what happens to this country and its citizens.

In the end, like the support most politicians on the right receive despite how much they hurt Americans through their anti-Keynesian, anti-science obstructionism, I am left appalled and grasping to understand why Trump is considered a best choice for veterans.

[1] A good idea would be to look at and parse how veterans compare to similar demographics on the civilian side (with respect to race, age, social economic status and how rural they are).

[2] All except the fighting with “hands tied behind our backs” argument. To say nothing of the now Serious Person “truth” that pulling all troops out of Iraq lead to ISIS’ rise.

[3] Remember that Bush never thought nation-building to be a good idea before he was elected. Therefore it’s smart to see what exactly is behind a candidate’s reasoning; and how militaristic they act. And being that Trump is more bellicose than Hillary (also a hawk I’m no fan of) it’s hard to say that he’ll be a candidate for peace. In fact, I’ve already confronted a few people who are pro-Trump and think him one to bomb the Middle East to submission — a final solution, I assume.

[4] I’ll leave out my own road to Damascus moment as I’ve come a long way from thinking that those wars protected our country.