August 28, 2010 06:18 PM UTC

Politics and Service

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• by: Pam Bennett

(This is a longish but very eloquent statement from a fellow Vietnam Era veteran about the meaning of military service and its effect on one’s attitude toward public service.  At a time when we still haven’t resolved whether gays, lesbians, bisexuals or transgendered Americans can serve their colors openly, I think Pam’s observations have special meaning. – promoted by Voyageur)

When I was getting ready to run for office my friends and consultants were concerned about my service in the Air Force.  The common recommendation was to not bring it up and to minimize it.  Candidate training courses tended to advise the same thing.

I grew up in a family that takes military service dearly.  From the Civil War, to WWI, Finland against the Soviet Union, WWII, and myself during the Vietnam era, and many conflicts and peacetime service in between, the men and women of my family were in one branch of the service or another.  We believe in fighting for our country.  We were never career or lifer’s, we served and returned to our civilian lives.

Were we patriotic? Yes.  Was being patriotic our lives? No.  Did we wear our patriotism on our sleeves and preach to the world how strong our patriotism is? No.  We did our service for our country and the people who live here and those who needed our help.  We definitely did not do it for personal gain.

I feel somewhat uncomfortable when strangers come up to me and thank me for my service.  I do not know where that comes from and really do not care.  Are they thanking me for signing the contract stating I will give my life for you?  Or is it they are uncomfortable because they and theirs did not serve and this is a way of feeling better?   I do know a sincere “thanks for serving” when I hear it though.

Why, you might still be wondering would I minimize my service?  Because there is some lingering concerns with some Dems that having been in the military I would lose votes from Progressives.  There were concerns that the R’s would attack me because I am a Progressive Dem running for office.  There were concerns that I would be “swift boated”.  I too was concerned about that.

Our veteran population is small and growing smaller everyday as WWII and Korean vets die.  During the next couple of decades it will shrink rapidly as the Vietnam vets die.  As the Southwest Asia veterans age and die the percentage of American veterans to the general population will be a constantly shrinking percentage.

A few years ago the Department of Veterans Affairs began a push for veterans to wear their medals on certain patriotic days. I started wearing mine as a way of publicizing how few veterans there are now. This year I wore mine to the July 4th baseball game.  I was one of a handful out of 24,000. A couple of years ago I was at a Red Cross breakfast along with about 1,000 other people.  There were 6 active duty troops in uniform. At one point in the opening ceremonies all veterans and active duty troops were asked to stand and be recognized for our contribution to our country.  10 of us were standing. That is out of 1,000 people.

What that does is make military service for politicians an oddity, not even an exception.  Even now the percentage of vets in office is very small, especially compared to the 50’s and 60’s. I would like to find hard numbers for that so if you have links please post those.  

So does having served help run for office or how you legislate or govern? I think so.  No matter what your specialty is you are taught upfront how to kill someone; right there in basic training.  You are also taught to work together to survive.  And you are taught to be proud of yourself and your unit.  These never leave you, no matter what your life ends up being.  A homeless vet drunk or on drugs still knows those very basic lessons of life.  A person with a great life and success will always remember those lessons.

One lesson from basic training is you can always tell who is a veteran.  I will add usually.  That person will walk (or limp) differently. A little cadence, urp 2, 3, 4, will get them changing step.  When the National Anthem or Taps is played you will see a straightening up, a move to attention, something civilians never learned.  Superficial perhaps, but something all vets share.

I did not spend the early months of my campaign doing much talking about my military service.  In one way I was following the advice of my staff and consultants.  But, I did not realize this at the time, I thought I was not unique for my service.  I thought there were more veterans in the general population than there actually are.

When I was featured in Newsweek the reporter and editor made my service number one in the subtitle, “A Former Air Force Sergeant. . .”. At that point I started to reconsider keeping my service minimal.  I noticed I connected with people better as a vet than as just another politician, albeit with a little more to her life than other politicians.  

I have been trying to figure out why being a vet gives a little something to politicians. These general thoughts are mine, I have never read any definitive works on the subject.  One major reason is I think because so few people in the general public has served so there is a mystic to it.  America was formed by the sword and gun. There is a mystic about the fighting “man”, much less so for the fighting woman, that is part of our history classes.

Another, there is respect, of varying levels, for those who have served for being ready to fight and die for our country, and for others who are not American but need our help.  There is also a general understanding, helped with a lot of army recruiting ads and Hollywood that you are highly skilled in your specialty, never mind that the specialty is point man on a rifle squad or sitting in front of a monitor most of your day. You are skilled and ready to take your weapon and fight is the less than hidden meaning.

Once I started to feel comfortable about being a veteran running for elected office I did better because I was acknowledging to myself and my voters who I was and how I could run for office.  Being a veteran is not the reason to run any more than another characteristic is.  But, being a veteran allowed me to connect with voters regardless of my gender.  If I could serve my country, I think the reasoning goes, than that overcame most other reasons to deny me a vote.

I am proud of my service.  The military means a lot to me, not only because of my family history, but also because I can feel for those on active duty now.  I can feel for vets who need help. I can feel for vets who were discharged because they are lesbian or gay.  And, there is a certain type of camaraderie within the veteran communities.

One of the hardest things about running for office for me is placing my life history is proper perspective as a one reason to run for office.  It was not that I am a vet that I ran for office. It was not due to my gender that I ran for office.  I ran for office because I believe in good government that represents the citizens of my district.  I ran for office wanting to serve my district and Colorado.  My background is why I can run for office, not the reason I do.

Does military service affect the views of politicians? I think it does to some extent.  And it is not towards fighting more wars.  A few years ago a list was created about legislators and their associated political party and their service to country.  That list showed something very disturbing about those ready to use the military anytime they were offended.  Who Served In The Military?  

Is being a veteran something voters should consider when deciding who to vote for?  I do not think any more so than education.  Should lack of service be a consideration? It should not be, however, in a city like Aurora with a population that is almost one third veterans and their families and active duty troops it might be something to note.  Sometimes it is good to have a representative who has some similar life experiences with her constituents.

Over many years I have met many veterans in office.  Almost all of them, regardless of which side of the aisle they sit, have a dedication to public service that we all can be proud of.  There are a few who vote against veterans and active duty troops.  They are the exception, not the rule.

    Does military service make for a better representative?  I think it does.