Not to appear to be on their side but...
A link on the Drudge Report alerted me to a story about a soldier being censored at the YearlyKos Convention. You would think that I'd be cheering him and giving the lunatic left a slapdown but I'm not. My first reaction to this story was, rather, disappointment.
One of the first things I learned in AFROTC was that putting on the military uniform meant more than just donning on a pair of blues or camies. Every Thursday we had to wear the uniform of the day at all times during the day until lead lab (Leadership Laboratory) was concluded. During that time we were in uniform we were restricted in what we could say and do. Going to a political event such as this YearlyKos Convention while in uniform was a very big violation. Even during classes if we were picked on by the professor to offer an opinion or answer a question, we had to give a sort of disclaimer that what were were about to say was not at all connected with the Air Force, the military at large, or the government in general.
Wearing that uniform makes you a sort of spokesman for the military. You are the face of an organization that is not to have a political agenda. It is a service to politicians and however they legally direct and fund it. This soldier, by attending in uniform, is speaking for the military whether he realizes it or not. By using it as piece of speech, he is bringing the military into a situation where it has no business. If he had been there in plain clothes, well kudos for him but it was unacceptable for him to do it they way he did.
As for the censorship issue. You know, even if he wasn't in uniform, I would rather him not attend. I have very little patience for hecklers. And while I might agree with this soldier on many issues, I do think that the Kos people should be allowed to do their group stroke in peace. To the Kos opponents who want to attend...fine, attend and challenge them but do it in the appropriate avenues. Hopefully they were decent enough to have question and answer sessions. But really, is it worth going to these kinds of meetings? So I really don't have a beef for any group to practice their freedom of association in these little clique meetings and boot out those they don't want-- like Cindy Sheehan.
One of the first things I learned in AFROTC was that putting on the military uniform meant more than just donning on a pair of blues or camies. Every Thursday we had to wear the uniform of the day at all times during the day until lead lab (Leadership Laboratory) was concluded. During that time we were in uniform we were restricted in what we could say and do. Going to a political event such as this YearlyKos Convention while in uniform was a very big violation. Even during classes if we were picked on by the professor to offer an opinion or answer a question, we had to give a sort of disclaimer that what were were about to say was not at all connected with the Air Force, the military at large, or the government in general.
Wearing that uniform makes you a sort of spokesman for the military. You are the face of an organization that is not to have a political agenda. It is a service to politicians and however they legally direct and fund it. This soldier, by attending in uniform, is speaking for the military whether he realizes it or not. By using it as piece of speech, he is bringing the military into a situation where it has no business. If he had been there in plain clothes, well kudos for him but it was unacceptable for him to do it they way he did.
As for the censorship issue. You know, even if he wasn't in uniform, I would rather him not attend. I have very little patience for hecklers. And while I might agree with this soldier on many issues, I do think that the Kos people should be allowed to do their group stroke in peace. To the Kos opponents who want to attend...fine, attend and challenge them but do it in the appropriate avenues. Hopefully they were decent enough to have question and answer sessions. But really, is it worth going to these kinds of meetings? So I really don't have a beef for any group to practice their freedom of association in these little clique meetings and boot out those they don't want-- like Cindy Sheehan.
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