"Serving Your Country"

I was reading an article the other day about a political campaign somewhere in the East in which one candidate, a military veteran, made the accusation against his opponent that he "had never served his country". That's the political attack version of telling people that your opponent never served in the military. That charge really bugged me.

Although it is certainly honorable to serve in the military, and there's no doubt that anyone who has spent time in the military can truly be said to have "served his country", it's not the only way a citizen can serve their country. I am not a military veteran, but for more than 30 years I've worked, helped build the economy, and paid taxes to support the government at all levels. I've stayed out of trouble and drawn little in terms of government resources. As far as I'm concerned, I have served my country, and quite well thank you.

If you want to accuse me of never volunteering for military service, that's fine. It was not the career for me. But don't accuse me of failing to serve my country.

Jeff Jacoby takes on another spurious charge - the "chickenhawk" charge which would suggest that only military veterans have the right to comment on military actions. Read it here.