I watched #BunkerbitchakaDJT deliver the commencement speech to over a thousand young second lieutenants today. As I sat there and listened to his words I thought about a few different things.
I thought about William Calley and the slaughter at My Lai. I though about how this young junior officer had callously slaughtered an entire village of men, women and children. I thought about what the message he might have received as he prepared to take his first command. I remembered that Nixon pardoned Calley so he never felt the real ramifications of his actions. Today William Calley is a 74 year old man living in Atlanta. I wondered what he would have thought about the talk that #BunkerbitchakaDJT delivered to this newly minted class of second lieutenants.
As I listened to the #BunkerbitchakaDJT I wondered what these 21and 22 year olds would take away from it. Would it resonate with the immense responsibility they were about to be entrusted with or would he fail to deliver the right message. For me it was not a stirring address. It did not call upon them to reflect on the responsibilities before them. It did not speak to the sanctity of human life. It did remind them that tomorrow is his birthday.
I thought about the events since the death of George Floyd on May 25th. I thought about how #BunkerbitchakaDJT had threatened to unleash regular military forces on US citizens and I wondered if this class of young people would retain what they had learned from the cadet honor code. I wondered if they would have the character to resist an unlawful order from a superior officer.
I am in the winter of my life so I think about these things. I was disappointed that #BunkerbitchakaDJT didn’t make better use of his opportunity to shape these young officers into better leaders. I suppose it’s very hard to impart what you do not know yourself.
THINK!!
EYES WIDE OPEN!!!
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