Illuminant Defiance vs. Blind Obedience: One Brave Man Stands Against Cowardly Masses

A truth as discomforting as it is thought-provoking: the U.S. Army stands to court martial 1st Lt. Ehren Watada for refusing deployment orders to Iraq. Whether or not this escalates into a much-needed critical examination of the conflict Operation Iraqi Freedom (O.I.F.) and its merits will be revealed only as events unfold, but the ugly underbelly of O.I.F. has been undeniably exposed simply by the assertion of Lt. Watada. That the U.S. Army must put on trial an experienced and accomplished soldier, potentially its bravest officer from his recent bold actions, solely for keeping his promise to the American people indicates dysfunction of the entire hierarchy. And dysfunction of an entire social structure is attributable to the corruption of its highest levels. We are not prosecuting a criminal for his deviant behavior; we are prosecuting a soldier whose actions strictly comply with the structure's original design. –This self-evident perspective is easy to see but the subsequent action it necessitates is difficult; I only fear America’s majority will take a perspective whose discernment is equally easy however fundamentally irrational: that Watada is unpatriotic and cowardly, simply because the subsequent action prescribed by that perspective is effortless.

The conservative critics have exhaustively labeled Ehren Watada a "coward". Let's examine the reasoning behind such a label: 1) Cowards run, Watada's feet are firmly planted; he isn't going anywhere 2) Cowards hide, Watada is in plain sight; he's in center spotlight of the public eye. If "coward" is not an appropriate label, then what is? I think "patriot" (in the natural, denotative sense) most accurately captures his identity. His self-appointed obligation to defend the U.S. constitution bequests of him to disobey orders from his superiors that are unlawful, and he is doing exactly that. As history his proven, a life sworn to defend the constitution often incurs hazard, inviting the attacks of those who exist to dissolve and disparage the constitution. Today the tradition is maintained as the brave stance Watada has taken in defense of our constitution is putting him in danger. What is unusual about Watada's case, though, is where the attacks are coming from: the very same institution Watada has joined in order to defend the constitution.

"All enemies, foreign and domestic" –that’s right from the oath that all U.S. serviceman take, the oath that Watada has yet to betray, and although I have never met the man, I don’t suspect he has any intention of betraying. Those enemies that are distanced from our constitution by Watada's bravery are those individuals that continuously betray their own oaths, lie to their own people, send the armies they have been entrusted with to fight unjust wars out of corporate interest rather than necessity or the people’s will.

What many veterans of limited critical-thinking skills demand of Lt. Watada is unquestioned obedience to orders. What these veterans cannot see or understand is that unquestioned obedience to orders is so heinously anti-social that it's preeminence in cultures surface time and again throughout world history in the medium of holocaust, genocide, slavery, and other forms of abject injustice. Those veterans who call him un-American should consult a 4th grade level history book where they would quickly discover America was founded by a serious of defiant acts coupled with a climate of cultural disobedience.

Hail Lt. Watada as a modern American hero, commend him for epitomizing citizenship by keeping the time-honored tradition of protecting our country's values from the will of tyrants who wish for people to be unfree. Prosecute those who forced upon him only one morally upright course of action, the one directly preceding martyrdom: civil disobedience. In doing so, we shall take 2 steps closer to restoring American Democracy and eradicating fascism.