Edward Hoagland had a terrible stutter that disqualified him for some positions — including teaching posts, or so he thought. He had to lie to an Army psychiatrist who doubted whether Hoagland was fit to be drafted.
I admire conscientious objectors and am not much of a fan of military service. But Hoagland was thinking about responsibilities to serve the public good and he didn’t want to be excused when others had to shoulder the same responsibility.
Hoagland’s story used to be common. Many veterans I knew had deferments but went anyway. They just didn’t feel right avoiding a responsibility that their neighbors had to bear.
Some people look down on that sentiment. The story of how Commander-in-Chief Bone Spurs faced his own crisis of conscience is well known, and I won’t belabor it.
But it’s infuriating that people who enlisted in our armed forces because they felt some sense of responsibility for the public good are being led by people who prefer personal profit. That’s despicable in peacetime. Something worse in war.
• Source: Edward Hoagland’s essay “Curtain Calls” is in Sex and the River Styx; White River Junction, Vt.: Chelsea Green Publishing, 2011, p. 113.
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