It is fashionable to mock or discredit any serious inquiry about American racial history by simply calling it “woke.” Comparing white American mythology with what actually happened is not patriotic.
It was, therefore, noteworthy to hear an impassioned defense of racial inquiry coming from our Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman, Army Gen. Mark Milley, who recently testified before a congressional committee. A Green Beret and Trump appointee, he was characterized as “pathetic” by the ex-president following his testimony.
The general said: “I do think it’s important … for those of us in uniform to be open minded and be widely read. The United States Military Academy is a university, and it is important that we train and we understand. I want to understand white rage. I’m white and I want to understand it. So what is it that caused thousands of people to assault this (U.S. Capitol) building and try to overturn the Constitution of the United States of America? What caused that? I want to find that out. …
“I’ve read Mao Zedong. I’ve read Karl Marx. I‘ve read Lenin. That doesn’t make me a communist. So what is wrong with … having some situational understanding about the country which we are here to defend? I personally find it offensive that we are accusing the United States military of being ‘woke’ or something else because we’re studying some theories that are out there. … I want to know (and) it matters to our military and the discipline … of this military.”
Thank you, Gen. Milley.
George Mason
Nobleboro
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