Yes, dissent is patriotic

Call me a contrarian, but a big part of the reason I love living in America is the simple fact that everyone who lives here is free to criticize it.

 

As the world shrinks and we are continually pelted with stories about people in other countries who are hunted down and killed for how they voted or for what they've written in the newspaper, I am reminded every day of my pride in the good old USA.

As every fifth-grader should know, our cherished freedoms wouldn't be possible without the Declaration of Independence, which our forefathers signed on July 4, 1776. As we approach our annual national bacchanal of grilling, drinking and watching fireworks, please take a moment (remember those corny "Bicentennial Minutes" on TV in the '70's?) to savor your freedom of speech, religion and the press, along with all the other liberties guaranteed by Declaration of Independence and the subsequent U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights.

 
Feeling patriotic? Good.
 

But for me it gets a little scary when you consider that some people believe that the mere act of criticizing the United States government or our elected leaders makes a person unpatriotic. Even when -- no, especially when -- the criticism is leveled at our country's so-called War on Terror.

 
The most passionate anti-war activist I know is retired Gen. Melvyn Montaño of Albuquerque, a Vietnam veteran and former adjutant general of the New Mexico National Guard. Gen. Montaño enlisted in the Air National Guard in 1954 and fought with the Army's 431st Munitions Maintenance Squadron in Vietnam in 1968. In all, he served for 16 years as an enlisted man before receiving a direct commission as a first lieutenant with the 150th Tactical Fighter Group in 1970.

 

After serving on countless boards and advisory bodies, Gen. Montaño closed out his official military career as New Mexico's top military officer.

 
Ask him why he signed up to fight for his country, and he'll tell you.

 
"I served to protect the Constitution of the United States against all enemies - domestic and foreign," he says.

And it's the domestic ones he's most worried about these days.

At age 72, Montaño works tirelessly to educate people about what he thinks is wrong about the Iraq war and the overarching War on Terror. His targets include what he sees as the flawed and dishonest way America entered the conflict in Iraq, the illegal U.S. policy on torture and America's shoddy and shameful treatment of returning veterans.

 
To get his points across, Gen. Montaño writes letters to the editors of New Mexico newspapers and the state's congressional delegation constantly.

Two years ago, Montaño hit the jackpot. He and a group of other retired officers were able to arrange a meeting in Washington with Sen. John McCain to express their support for the McCain Amendment, which would adhere to the Geneva Convention to outlaw the torture of prisoners of war and ensure they are treated humanely.
 

To the group's surprise, McCain, a former POW who was tortured by his Vietnamese captors, flipflopped on his own amendment, siding with President Bush in deciding that torture was okay, says Montaño.

Montano's most recent crusade was his support of updating the historic GI bill, which enabled millions of solidiers returning from World War II to attend college, get good jobs and buy their own homes.

 
Again, Montaño said he felt betrayed most of all by McCain, the man who should have the most compassion and understanding for the plight of the returning soldier.

McCain opposed the massively popular overhaul of the GI Bill that would extend and expand benefits to more veterans -- an overhaul supported by every national veterans group and a bipartisan majority of senators.

 
But when the GI Bill came up in the Senate, McCain didn't even bother to show up in Washington to vote on it. Days later, he addressed the issue during his Memorial Day visit to Albuquerque, saying he didn't support extending benefits to soldiers until after they had re-enlisted several times.

Bush, who had sided with McCain in opposing the bill, assessed its overwhelming popularity and signed it into law this week, leaving McCain -- the war hero and self-declared champion of America's solidiers -- virtually alone in his failure to support it.

 
That brings me to another patriot I know, a veteran who credits his success in life to the original GI bill.

World War II veteran Louis Tellez of Albuquerque fought with the U.S. Army's Transportation Corps in the Southwest Pacific. He was 18 years old when he volunteered for the service right after Pearl Harbor, and was one of eight siblings in his family (there were twelve total) who entered the military during that era.

"Because of the GI Bill, I was able to go to school when I returned," says Tellez, who is now 84. He got a degree in business administration, but still had to work as a janitor at Kirtland Air Force Base because "discrimination against Hispanics was rampant in those days."

Tellez became active in the GI Forum, a Hispanic veterans organization founded in 1948 by Dr. Hector Garcia of Corpus Christi, Texas, and later became its national executive secretary. The group helped bring about significant improvements in education, employment, administration of justice and media prejudice regarding Mexican American veterans.

Eventually Tellez landed a series of good jobs in public service and is now happily retired. But he continues to fight for the rights of veterans through his full-time volunteer service with the GI Forum.

 
In addition to the GI Bill, the GI Forum exhaustively researches and maintains compassionate positions on a whole slate of issues regarding all returning veterans, including proper treatment for traumatic brain injury, rising rates of suicides among returning vets and the increasing number of homeless vets.

The GI Forum supported the new GI Bill because "families are hurting; they are living in poverty" says Tellez.

The fact that McCain didn't support the bill is puzzling and infuriating, says Tellez.

"John McCain is against everything that involves veterans. I wrote to him about three years ago, saying that as a vet himself, he should be well aware of the needs of vets. He never answered."

 
Thanks to the service of men like Tellez and Montaño, I continue to be free to criticize my country's position on the war and torture of prisoners and treatment of returning vets as much as I want.

But it's disheartening to hear that these men, who put their lives on the line for these rights in a way I never have, have found only limited success in raising their voices against what they see as our country's failed responsibility to our veterans.

 
My wish for this 4th of July is that our elected leaders give them some respect. Please, listen to what they and veterans like them have to say about where our country is going and how we treat our returning soldiers.

And everyone, remember: Criticizing America doesn't mean you don't love it.

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