Earlier this month, media broke the story of President Donald Trump making insensitive remarks after the deaths of U.S. Army soldiers that upset the fallen soldier’s family.
Sgt. La David Johnson, Staff Sgt. Bryan Black, Staff Sgt. Jeremiah Johnson and Staff Sgt. Dustin Wright died Oct. 4, 2017, and two others were wounded while conducting military operations in Africa. All were members of a U.S. Army’s elite Special Forces 12-man Team.
Please take a 30 second moment of silence to remember that good men like these keep the bad men at bay so individuals can enjoy a free lifestyle at home in the U.S. Please take a moment to remember there are good men willing to fight, and in this case, soldiers die on others’ behalf so that more do not have to.
The Army Green Berets pride themselves as one the best units in the U.S. Army. Many of their missions are classified until a later date and their service goes unnoticed. As a result, these soldiers have adopted two mottos. Their official mission is that of an indigenous force multiplier: “De oppresso liber,” which is Latin for, “To free the oppressed.” The unofficial motto is “Be a quiet professional.”
Being a quiet professional means not bragging about what you do. As mentioned before, a majority of their missions are classified until a later date. The motto of being a “quiet professional” is one our current president need to adopt.
It is a tragedy that good men like this die in foreign countries too young and far from family for any reason. A greater tragedy is when a story of death is one of gossip in the U.S.
The headlines don’t read “Four U.S. soldiers killed in Africa,” rather it’s “Trump disrespects soldiers killed in Africa” or a variant. The tragedy is when you read the stories of recorded, provable or infallible disrespect coming from the sitting Commander in Chief.
The stories hang on the words of Representative Frederica S. Wilson, D-FL. She was present during a call to the family of Sgt. La David Johnson, according to multiple news sources. During the call, President Trump allegedly made remarks in a disrespectful tone that upset the service member’s surviving family, as shared by Rep. Wilson after the phone call.
The story never should have been shared after Rep. Wilson made her remarks to the press. The story breaks the ethics of The Society of Professional Journalism and is the equivalent of gossip. Rep. Wilson might have well told her story to her hair-stylist and that should have been the end of it. This story has brought many historic publications down a few pegs closer to the National Inquisitor or People Magazine.
There is no true way to truly verify what was said, the tone in which it was said or even the intent of the communication.
Since President Trump has proven himself a hypocrite and insensitive in many ways, I’m still kind of surprised that people continue to expect something different.
If he made the supposed comments reported by multiple news agencies, nothing can be done about it. The people of this nation can get mad and yell about hypocrisy and insensitivity all they want, but that won’t change the circumstances.
The responsibility that each citizen and reader must adopt in this era on media inundation is to focus on the real issues that are taking place between now and the next election cycle. President Trump’s administration is making claims of the largest tax reform in the more recent history of the U.S. and it seems to me most people are focused on the stories rather than the policies.
Shame on you major news outlets for distributing this gossip and abandoning real news for ratings. Shame on you the audience, for not demanding more from your news outlets. Shame on you my fellow journalist, for abandoning your ethics for the same ratings and personal gain.
In respect to tragedy, we as a collective society need to demand more from ourselves that will enrich the lives of others. Action will always speak louder than words. Rather than talking about Trump, we need to take action to prevent more injustice on the president’s part.
