There is a quiet but profound series of coordinated events taking place at the Department of Defense that everyone should be aware of. Secretary Pete Hegseth is purging the DoD website of presentations that highlight notable milestones in our history. The erasures are focused specifically on Americans who were the first of their race or gender to reach certain levels or accomplish significant feats.
One might ask, why should these things been given highlights? The answer is that they trace the history of our country from its original aspirational conception to the realization of these ideals. Thomas Jefferson captured the spirit of the times in 1776 when he wrote about the “self-evident” truths of human equality and human rights. The creation of the American Republic was an experiment in manifesting those truths. Abraham Lincoln asserted that Declaration of Independence was a statement of intentions for the new country; that without it the Constitution formed a government without a true or exceptional purpose.
Noting the accomplishments of Americans in the armed forces who, at the time of American War for Independence, were not recognized as being fully deserving of equality and human rights is a way we can see how the foundational aspirations of our country have been fulfilled over the decades. Although the Founders were generally bound by the sensibilities of their times, they created a nation that could grow, change, and evolve. They provided the framework for those lofty ideals to come to life and be actualized by EVERY American.
The scrubbing of the website does not remove the truth of history, but it shows the intention of this administration. It is not a noble act of “equality” in the name of getting rid of DEI initiatives as I am sure they would argue. It is not the same as removing Confederate monuments which were a blight of granting honor to traitors to our Republic and a product of shameful Jim Crow segregation. It is evidence of a misguided and Orwellian attempt to extinguish the record of the progress of the American foundation. It is a denial of our founding creed.
This new paradigm of “equality” based on erasing the past accomplishments and progress of Americans is novel and dangerous. It denies the very core of the United States as a nation whose greatness and exceptionality lies it its unrelenting march towards the ideals first expressed nearly 250 years ago.
Bruce Guthrie
Kalispell