From far away on my naval deployment, I watch my country burn with tears in my eyes. I feel helpless to do anything to put out the fires. I told my children I had to go overseas to keep them safe from America’s enemies. I feel like I have been outmaneuvered.
America is on fire, but I know the police cars and storefronts ablaze I see on television are merely a flare-up from a larger fire that has been burning beneath the surface of our society for decades. Almost certainly, the media is overplaying some isolated acts of violence to stoke our emotions and grab our attention, but even from where I sit the heat from the racial tension simmering in our country is undeniable.
I also know that our foreign adversaries are fueling the flames. From overt statements designed to sow division on social media, to more covert actions designed to incite violence at otherwise peaceful protests and rallies. Then, as I reflect on this foreign manipulation, I question whether it was even necessary in the first place. Was the gasoline not already soaking the timbers of race in our country? Do we really need to seek outsiders to blame for the unrest and division we see spreading throughout our cities? True enough, our adversaries targeted our soft underbelly of racial injustice and disharmony. I still trust our intelligence agencies to root out active attempts to undermine our government. I hope our leaders will counter misinformation. For now, it is up to us—all Americans—to shore up that soft underbelly.
We have to address racial injustice in our country head on. We have to acknowledge the data that suggests our police force has a history of treating black people, and other minorities, differently than white people. We have to rectify the institutional racism that has pervaded our justice system for far too long. When our local, state, and federal governments have to be prodded by outrage to do the right thing, that only further fuels the outrage.
We have to do these things because they are consistent with the principles on which our country is founded: liberty, justice, and equality for all. And as long as American culture embraces values inconsistent with our founding principles, we have a weakness that divides us and that our adversaries will exploit.
As I watch the fires burn from halfway around the world, the thought occurs to me that in this upside-down world my fellow Americans back home may be in more danger than I am. This is maddening, but I am also thankful I am not a member of the 82nd Airborne right now. The choice those men and women are facing is one I would prefer not to make. I like to think of myself as dedicated to my oath to defend the Constitution from all enemies, foreign and domestic. If we are truly facing an insurrection, I would not hesitate to fulfill my duty. But is that what is happening? I am not convinced. If I refused to participate in law enforcement or use force against American protesters, would that make me insubordinate? Would I face a court-martial? Once again, I have the unusual and eerie thought of being grateful I am deployed overseas.
I do know this: I have not given up on our country. I have not lost faith that we can put out this fire and rebuild, stronger and better than before. Rioters, anarchists, white supremacists, Antifa, revolutionaries on the left and right, all seem to have lost hope in our country. We are being written off from within, and that is exactly when the greatest comebacks happen. I know our adversaries have not lost sight of what we the United States is capable of.
The racial tension in our country did not start in the past four years and we likely will not achieve unity overnight, but we can learn from our past. Within the Navy, we have come a long way from the 1972 race riot on board the USS Kitty Hawk (CV-63). We struggled through the difficult process of upholding justice while learning, healing, and evolving along the way. We have more work to do. Today, we need solid leadership—strong, intelligent, compassionate, and dedicated leaders—in federal, state, and local governments, in the military, in industry, and in academia to help us preserve and strengthen our union. All Americans must work to come together as best we can. Take a deep breath. For the sake of our future, stop thinking about self-preservation, profits, campaigns, and reelection, and help extinguish the flames. America—united we stand, ignited we burn.
