A member of the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment places flags at the headstones of U.S. military personnel buried at Arlington National Cemetery on May 26, 2022 in Arlington, Virginia. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
Almost every voter in Maine is connected to a veteran or active-duty service member—whether a father, aunt, grandfather, neighbor, or friend.
In a brief timespan, three events, all related to the ideals that our service members protect, have converged: a) This week’s presidential debate, b) The anniversary of 9/11, and c) The recent incident at Arlington National Cemetery.
Amid the bustle of American life, it’s easy to overlook signs begging for reflection. These events reach that level, and we urge you to find a moment for a quiet coffee to think (hard in today’s world, we know, but try).
The presidential debate and free press
So crucial that most of us take it for granted, our free press is rooted in America’s founding and protected by our Constitution. This week, our nation will eagerly gather to watch journalists grill those seeking to lead us. Try that in 85% of the rest of the world.
9/11 and our collective memories
The horrors of September 11, 2001, left nearly 3,000 people dead in New York, Washington, and Shanksville, Pennsylvania. Mainers died that day. In the Iraq and Afghan wars that followed, 48 more active-duty soldiers, Marines, Airmen and women, and sailors from Maine gave what Abe Lincoln once called their last full measure of devotion.
While America and the world continue to wrestle with the meaning of those conflicts, the fact is that the al Qaeda terrorist network has largely been neutralized. But the pain from those wars endures. Which brings us to…
A recent incident at Arlington National Cemetery
Former President Donald Trump’s behavior at our most sacred burial ground was obscene. His staff pushed a cemetery official, filmed an election campaign ad, and posed for grinning photos at the graves of soldiers who died in Iraq and Afghanistan.
If you haven’t followed Trump’s history of disrespecting service members—insulting the late senator and POW John McCain, bullying Gold Star families, or calling fallen soldiers “suckers” and “losers”—his Arlington photo shoot is worth your time. Look it up: Trump, Arlington, thumb.
Arlington is row upon row of white marble headstones marking the final resting place for over 400,000 Americans. That simplicity weaves each sacrifice into a larger whole – our nation bound together by all who have served. Arlington takes your breath away.
We are 9/11 vets who have formed a coalition of diverse veterans’ organizations to advocate for free and fair elections this November. We send our condolences to the families who recently gathered with Trump to remember their deceased kin. We understand their anger over the futility of lives lost in the evacuation of Kabul.
But Trump—the draft dodger—hanging over their white marble graves with a leering smile and thumbs up as if Arlington was a used car lot, is extraordinary.
How did we, as a people, get here?
Somehow, Trump’s power as a politician comes from his ability to make America’s free press go crazy covering his hostility and outrages. And in a way that is hard to pin down—but we all feel—he leverages anger towards those 9/11 wars that drained a certain part of America’s soul.
It remains for history to untangle why, just before our nation’s 250th birthday, America is considering as its leader an angry old casino developer/reality TV star who sent a mob to attack the U.S. Capitol last time he lost an election.
The great thing is, everyone reading this has a chance. Turn the page. America is so much greater than Trump and his rage. Veterans and active-duty soldiers already have.
A new poll, conducted just before Arlington, shows his support among us slipping again with a majority of those surveyed believing that Trump would falter in a combat situation. It also found he is one of the most unpopular Republican presidential candidates in decades.
So read and participate in the free press. Say a prayer on 9/11. And most of all, go to Arlington someday and be awed by our country’s complexities and all those who sacrificed to make it possible.
Trump visited and missed the whole point.
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