It sickened me yesterday to see
security personnel—including members of the National Guard—forcibly and
violently clear a path through Lafayette Square to accommodate the president's
visit outside St. John's Church.
I have to date been reticent to speak
out on issues surrounding President Trump's leadership, but we are at an
inflection point, and the events of the past few weeks have made it impossible
to remain silent.
Whatever Trump's goal in conducting
his visit, he laid bare his disdain for the rights of peaceful protest in this
country, gave succor to the leaders of other countries who take comfort in our
domestic strife, and risked further politicizing the men and women of our armed
forces.
There was little good in the stunt.
While no one should ever condone the
violence, vandalism, and looting that has exploded across our city streets,
neither should anyone lose sight of the larger and deeper concerns about
institutional racism that have ignited this rage.
As a white man, I cannot claim perfect understanding of the fear
and anger that African Americans feel today. But as someone who has been around
for a while, I know enough—and I've seen enough—to understand that those
feelings are real and that they are all too painfully founded.
We must, as citizens, address head-on the issue of police
brutality and sustained injustices against the African American community. We
must, as citizens, support and defend the right—indeed, the solemn
obligation—to peacefully assemble and to be heard. These are not mutually
exclusive pursuits.
And neither of these pursuits will be
made easier or safer by an overly aggressive use of our military, active duty
or National Guard. The United States has a long and, to be fair, sometimes
troubled history of using the armed forces to enforce domestic laws. The issue
for us today is not whether this authority exists, but whether it will be
wisely administered.
I remain confident in the
professionalism of our men and women in uniform. They will serve with skill and
with compassion. They will obey lawful orders. But I am less confident in the
soundness of the orders they will be given by this commander in chief, and I am
not convinced that the conditions on our streets, as bad as they are, have
risen to the level that justifies a heavy reliance on military troops.
Certainly, we have not crossed the
threshold that would make it appropriate to invoke the provisions of the
Insurrection Act.
Furthermore, I am deeply worried that
as they execute their orders, the members of our military will be co-opted for
political purposes.
Even in the midst of the carnage we
are witnessing, we must endeavor to see American cities and towns as our homes
and our neighborhoods. They are not “battle spaces” to be dominated, and must never
become so.
We must ensure that African
Americans—indeed, all Americans—are given the same rights under the
Constitution, the same justice under the law, and the same consideration we
give to members of our own family. Our fellow citizens are not the enemy, and
must never become so.
Too many foreign and domestic policy
choices have become militarized; too many military missions have become
politicized.
This is not the time for stunts. This
is the time for leadership.
MIKE MULLEN is a retired admiral of the U.S. Navy and
was the 17th chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
