The Animus of Ignorance

Contextualizing Hatred from "Brothers-In-Arms"

A fellow Army field grade officer, LTC Dan Wagner, recently took to social media to express his displeasure with the lawful and reasonable recognition of gender dysphoria as a military service disqualifying medical condition.

I’ve previously written about the adverse impact gender dysphoria has on military readiness by responding to irrational arguments made by Col Bree Fram. Col Fram is now subject to involuntary separation from the military and is not eligible for a waiver due to having completed a gender transition. While I clearly believe this is in the best interests of military readiness, it would be unreasonable to impugn Col Fram’s personal commitment to the Constitution based solely on a diagnosis of gender dysphoria. Further, to hold animus for Col Fram or any of the other thousands of service members facing the end of their military career for suffering from a psychological condition is counterproductive and unbecoming of military leaders. Wherever possible, leaders must endeavor to make charitable assumptions as to the motivations of others who swore the same oath that binds us in service. Let us examine why LTC Wagner appears to struggle with his obligation to do the same.

Confronting Ignorance with Grace

It is clear based on the comment included above that LTC Wagner regards those who fulfilled their obligation to disobey the unlawful order to get the COVID vaccine with animus born of profound ignorance. We can know with certainty that LTC Wagner is an ignoramus in this regard because he refers to the order as “lawful.” It was not lawful. Only FDA approved vaccines can be mandated, and no FDA approved COVID vaccines have ever been manufactured or made available. The thing is, the entire DOD conspired to hide this truth as documented in excruciating detail by my friend

David Beckerman

during this presentation. Would LTC Wagner harbor such animus if not for his ignorance born of misplaced trust in a corrupt institution? I doubt it. I’d like to think if he understood the truth, his animus would be appropriately directed towards those who intentionally deceived him. Incidentally, this is why it is so important for DOD to recognize that the order was unlawful, so that we can begin to heal these divisions born of ignorance. Mutual hatred and animus within the ranks only serves enemies of the American people.

If we’re to move forward and restore honor and integrity to the DOD we must recognize that until this issue is addressed, the institution is unworthy of trust. By trusting an institution that is unworthy, you embrace a kind of self-deception that will lead you to hate people for the crime of fulfilling their oaths to the Constitution in a concrete and meaningful way. Fulfilling the oath has become an abstract ideal stripped of real meaning in an environment of widespread institutional corruption. To address this we need to move from vague notions of fidelity to the Constitution as abstract commitment to “democratic values” to concrete definitions that prescribe specific behaviors. This recognition was reinforced for me today when I received an email from my branch chief with an article on this very topic.

The Constitution Is Not An Abstraction

The article that my branch chief implored me to read was authored by MAJ Ryan Crayne entitled Our Most Powerful Weapon: The Army Ethic.¹ In this article MAJ Crayne demonstrates his deep confusion over what the obligation to the oath entails by invoking abstract concepts like “justice, human rights and democracy.” To be clear, the purpose of the Constitution is to outline the covenant between the American government and the American people. It has a definite purpose with a structure oriented explicitly towards the fulfillment of that purpose. Further, the Army’s role in fulfilling that purpose is also explicitly stated.

The reason leaders like LTC Wagner and MAJ Crayne are encouraged to look past this straightforward framing and invoke abstract concepts is because this allows the oath breakers who dominate the institution to escape accountability for their malfeasance. The COVID era saw widespread first amendment violations of service members. DEI programs clearly and obviously violate the equal protection clause of the fourteenth amendment. LTC Wagner and MAJ Crayne were party to these violations downstream from their trust in a corrupt institution. They can bloviate all they want about abstract values, the oath, and ethics. It won’t change the fact that when their commitment to the concrete letter of the law was tested, they failed. This is of course the most charitable assumption I can muster. It is also possible that these leaders have contempt for the constraints the Constitution places upon government power. After all, when you feel obligated to support abstract concepts like “human rights” unconstitutional means can seem justified by purportedly noble ends. Crayne even recognized the challenge of balancing ends and ways with means constrained by ethical standards for conduct in war, but he misses the big picture.

Why were we in Iraq and Afghanistan in the first place? To advance democracy? To promote human rights for women? Employing the military instrument of power to fight for such causes can seem reasonable for those conditioned to believe these abstract values have anything to do with the oath. If only we could have candid conversations about what the Constitution actually says… I’m here for it if anyone cares to have a real discussion, but I grow increasingly disillusioned. Being hated for doing the right thing by those I serve with is difficult to tolerate even if I can understand it, and I’ve been told outright by people who harbor such views that they have no interest in discussing anything with me to get my perspective. Such is the burden of maintaining honor among the ignorant.

1. Interestingly, MAJ Crayne is currently working as the Senior Instructor in the Simon Center for the Professional Military Ethic at the United States Military Academy at West Point. My friend John Frankman would’ve been filling this exact position if he wasn’t pushed out over the unlawful COVID vaccine mandate.