Recycled Lies about Military or Eugene Debs Syndrome

Men's News Daily ^ | 5-28-04 | Michael P. Tremoglie

[Hill Street Blues]

Having failed to convince the American people that the Iraq war is a result of:

An neocon conspiracy A capitalist conspiracy A Jewish conspiracy An oil company conspiracy Having failed to discredit the president by claiming that:

President Bush knew about 9-11 in advance and wanted it to justify invading Afghanistan and Iraq The president plans to establish a theocracy The president lied about WMD’s and manipulated the intelligence Having failed to convince the majority of the American people that:

There is absolutely no evidence of a link between Al-Qaeda and Iraq There is absolutely no evidence that Hussein ever possessed WMD’s There is no possibility of a link no matter how remote between Hussein and 9-11 Having failed to do all this liberals, Democrats, the mainstream media, and other inveterate Bushhaters (as opposed to genuine anti-war people) are now directing their attention to the American military. They want to do everything they can to destroy the military’s morale. One scheme is to represent them as war criminals participating in an illegal war.

They will now begin to discredit and disparage the troops who heretofore have been considered heroes. They will talk about atrocities committed by the troops. They will talk about war crimes committed by the troops. You will begin to see and hear a steady parade of Iraqis and Afghanis who claim to have been murdered, abused, and mistreated by American troops.

Disparaging the military is a staple of the campaign to demoralize the military. Unfortunately, it is working. Joe Roche, a soldier in Iraq recently wrote an email that he and his colleagues are distraught by the photographs of the POW’s abused by American military personnel ( who are being prosecuted for their crimes unlike the Islamists who are rewarded for theirs).

Another staple of the anti-military campaign by the pro-Saddam or anti-American forces is to portray the military as composed as poor and minority. This is as every bit as insidious propaganda as the claim that the military routinely commit war crimes. It is as every bit as unconscionable. It is intended to convince our military personnel and the American public that soldiers are merely poor pawns of rich rulers.

It is a lie that those who are in the military and those who are casualties are mostly poor and minorities. Yet, politicians such as John McCain and Chuck Hagel have stated this (both are war veterans who should know better). Academicians state this. “Peace” activists say this. The media says this. Despite the data that says this is incorrect - they still repeat this pernicious lie. It is a lie, which can be traced to at least 1918.

The mantra of the poor boy fighting the rich man’s war was stated during Viet Nam. It was said during Korea. It was said World War II. In fact, the founder of the Socialist Party of America, Eugene Debs, made this claim during World War I.

In 1918 Debs gave a speech, which resulted in him going to prison, during which he said, “And here let me emphasize the fact -- and it cannot be repeated too often -- that the working class who fight all the battles, the working class who make the supreme sacrifices, the working class who freely shed their blood and furnish the corpses, have never yet had a voice in either declaring war or making peace. It is the ruling class that invariably does both. They alone declare war and they alone make peace. They themselves did not go to war anymore than the modern feudal lords, the barons of Wall Street go to war…”

Modern media echoes Debs’ sentiments. Indeed, they are the most important cog in this concerted effort to destroy the military’s morale. They seem to be afflicted by Eugene Debs Syndrome.

Newsweek magazine recently wrote an article about Pat Tillman. The article, co-authored by Newsweek editor Andy Murr, stated, “American troops tend to be working -class or poor, disproportionately black, brown, or rural..."

I called Mr. Murr’s house to ask where he obtained this information. I left a message with his housekeeper. However, Murr was kind enough to return my call. He told me he was unsure of the source – possibly “clips.” He did not think it was a scientific study.

In this same edition of Newsweek, Anna Quindlen also repeats the Debs’ canard. She cites as her source a cheer by the Radical Teen Cheerleaders, “Hey Bush/Who fights your war/Just minorities and the poor. “ Apparently Newsweek’s statement - that the military is disproportionately poor, minority, and rural – is from “clips” and the Radical Teen Cheerleaders.

Eugene Debs Syndrome also affects The New Republic editor Peter Beinart.

Beinart wrote in a piece about the military, “This week, the papers were filled with the heartbreaking story of Pat Tillman ….Tillman's story is so moving in part because it is so anomalous. …the gulf between the military and the rest of American society is wider than it has been for generations.”

What is Beinart’s proof? For one, “ more and more, troops hail from the South and West, and from military families.” Why this is anymore of a concern than the fact that more and more journalists are from rich Northeastern families is not said.

Another is, “Minorities, who in 1973 comprised 23 percent of new enlistees, today comprise 37 percent.” Beinart’s implication being most of the military are minorities with no opportunities.

He omits that when the age group is factored the difference is not that dramatic. According to the Department of Defense, “ In the enlisted force, African Americans were overrepresented among …active duty… (20 percent) relative to the 18-24 year-old civilian population (14 percent).

However, the most disingenuous claim by Beinart is, “According to a recent rand (sic) study, one of the best predictors of whether a high school senior will enlist in the military is the unemployment rate in his or her county (italics mine). “ I called Beinart and asked him to cite his source, which he did.

I reviewed the data he used. This is what the Rand study actually said,

“Characteristics Significantly Affecting Enlistment. …A senior is more likely to enlist: The higher the unemployment rate in his county.” It also said that a senior is more likely to enlist, “ If he plans to marry within the next five year,” and “The higher his number of siblings.”

Conversely the study said a high school senior was less likely to enlist, “ The more months he's been unemployed” and “If he has a low wage.” It also mentions if he is Hispanic, has a good aptitude test score, and educated mother, or from a family with a good income – albeit not specified.

Beinart’s sophistry is typical.

Here are some quotes from the aforementioned Rand study and from the March 2003, Department of Defense report Population Representation in the Military for fiscal year 2001, about military demographics. These quotes are the antipodes of what the mainstream media and others are saying. In fact, the American public now knowing this truth will be even more admiring of the American military. ( italics mine)

Regarding black officers:

“Minorities appear to be proportionately represented and not on the decline within the commissioned officer corps. Although African Americans comprised a much smaller proportion of officers (8 percent) than of enlistees (22 percent), when compared to college graduates in the civilian workforce 21-49 years old (9 percent African American), African Americans are equitably represented in the officer ranks.”

Regarding education:

Practically all active duty and Selected Reserve enlisted …had a high school diploma or equivalent, well above civilian youth proportions (79 percent of 18-24 year-olds).

Regarding intellect:

Enlisted members tend to have higher cognitive aptitude than the civilian youth population, as measured by scores on the military's enlistment test.

Regarding reading Ability:

Like aptitude levels, reading levels were higher in the enlisted military than in the non-military sector. FY 2001 …active duty enlisted …had a mean reading level typical of an 11th grade student whereas the mean for civilian youth was within the 10th grade range.

The reality of the composition of the American military is very different from the casuistry and the vitriol of the liberals/Democrats/Communists et al. Indeed, the military personnel in many cases – rather than being the poor, uneducated, rural and minority people – are actually more educated, and more intelligent than their civilian counterparts. (An interesting comment by Rand is that one reason that Southerners are disproportionately represented is that there is a disproportionate amount of military facilities in the South.)

As a former big city cop I am very familiar with the fallacious arguments made by liberals and their willing accomplices in the mainstream media. They demonize the military the same way they demonize law enforcement – and for the same reason. Such demonization has a deleterious effect on the morale of those in law enforcement and it will destroy the morale of the military personnel.

When that happens there will be more casualties – which is what many of the pro-Saddam/anti-American critics of this war want.

Michael P. Tremoglie is a writer whose work has appeared in the Philadelphia Inquirer, Philadelphia Daily News, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, Front Page and Insight magazines. He is working on his first novel 'A Sense of Duty'.E-mail him at elfegobaca2@earthlink.net

[xJones]

They will now begin to discredit and disparage the troops who heretofore have been considered heroes. They will talk about atrocities committed by the troops. They will talk about war crimes committed by the troops. You will begin to see and hear a steady parade of Iraqis and Afghanis who claim to have been murdered, abused, and mistreated by American troops.

That is the evil truth, and it is being done by our own media. Our troops in Iraq are being hurt by the jail humiliation stories, and they need to hear reassurance.

[Military family member]

I live in Eugene V. Debs' hometown (Terre Haute, Indiana) and have visited the museum that is in his former house, which is located on the campus of Indiana State University.

The Debs Society sites this speech and other Debs' works every year.

What I've found interesting is the number of Veterans of various wars, especially Vietnam Vets, who agree with what Debs said. I also noticed that when my wife attended basic training at Fort Jackson, that more than half of her basic training unit was African-American. Granted this may have been a statistic anomaly, but it does seem to support this.

[Hill Street Blues]

That would be like saying because you work for an all white companies than all companies are all white.

Anecdotal evidence is not proof. This is the problem with racial disparity arguments - they are usually the result of anecdotal evidence. Sometimes they are true. Sometimes they are not. Without the actual data it is difficult to say for sure.

WHen you have to studies Rand and the DoD and they do not have a reason to be biased ( Rand was trying to prove disparity teh DoD wanted to know for marketing purposes) you can be fairly certain that what they say is true.

[FierceDraka]

Hmmm. I might have to pay a visit to the old Debs house.

[Military family member]

There is a Debs Society, which presents an award every year for some accomplishment or another. Ed Asner won it one year.

Here's the link if you're interested:

http://www.eugenevdebs.com/

[dvwjr]

What is Beinart’s proof? For one, “ more and more, troops hail from the South and West, and from military families.” Why this is anymore of a concern than the fact that more and more journalists are from rich Northeastern families is not said.

This is news to anyone?

Yoo-hoo! Where are all y'all yankees?

Source: Population Representation in the Military Services FY2002 -Chapter 2 - Geography

Another point data point which is incorrect:

Another is, “Minorities, who in 1973 comprised 23 percent of new enlistees, today comprise 37 percent.” Beinart’s implication being most of the military are minorities with no opportunities.

The FY2002 DoD numbers say minorities comprise 33% of new enlistees, so "Beinart's" numbers are a most generous 5% off base... According to the Department of Defense, for the FY 2002 the total military new enlistees composition looks as follows:

  Ethnicity  18-24 Military     18-24 Total Civilian
----------------------------------------------------
     White       67.0%              65.1%
     Black       15.7%              14.2% 
  Hispanic       11.3%              15.6%
     Other        6.0%               5.1%

According to the enlistment data, both Whites and Blacks are slightly over-represented compared to their overall US civilian population standing in the four major Armed Services, with Hispanics being a bit more under-represented.

Source: Population Representation in the Military Services FY2002 - Chapter 2 Table 2.5

Good sources for more current Department of Defense and US Army demographic data than the aboved named author(s) used in their writings:

Source: Population Representation in the Military Services FY2002
Source: Army Democraphics FY03 Army Profile

dvwjr

[PGalt]

Good article. Thanks very much for the additional information and links.