The Apolitical Armed Forces

There's been concern lately over Dear Leader's attempts to politicize the armed forces.

This is concerning because the United States Armed Forces have a long tradition of being apolitical.

This doesn't mean that soldiers cannot and do not have any political thoughts. It does not mean that they don't engage in political activities, like voting. Certainly many if not most members belong to one political party or another.

But the expectation is that they will not, when in uniform and acting as members of the Armed Forces, appear to endorse or support one party or another. Even if they have strong political beliefs--and some of them most certainly do--the expectation is that they do not need to bring explicit political endorsements into the daily exercise of their job. Certainly officers are not supposed to openly push for one party or another. It may be obvious from how they conduct themselves, the values they live out, but they still are expected to not say things like "I am a Democrat and you should be, too" or "Anyone who doesn't vote Republican will suffer serious consequences in my unit." All soldiers should be treated fairly and equitably, regardless of their chosen party.

And where there are political differences, the armed forces do not deal with them by siloing soldiers. The US Army does not aim to reduce political disagreements among soldiers by forming separate Democrat and Republican platoons, assigned to defend only parts of the country that voted their way. Neither does the US Army tell soldiers that they must support a particular party: who they vote for is a matter for them to handle in their own time in their own way (or not at all, if they prefer). 

To do otherwise is to interfere with the function of the armed forces. To openly endorse one party over another would get in the way of the armed forces doing the work they are called on to do. It is to warp the definition of a good soldier to mean "Good party member." It would sow division and mistreatment, creating all sorts of issues that have nothing to do with the actual mission of the armed forces. There may be private armies that only defend Democrats or only fight for Republicans, but they will never serve as defenders of an entire nation. 

This is not a post about politics in the military.

This is a post about religion in schools.