Liberal Groups Protest the Marines

Last week the city council of Berkeley, California informed the Marine Corps recruiting station in Berkeley, through a vote of 8-1, that they were “uninvited and unwelcome guests.”

They also voted to give the anti-war, anti-military, reality challenged group Code Pink use of the parking space in front of the Marine’s recruiting office and a sound permit once a week for the next six months so that the group can freely protest the Marine’s presence.

Berkeley’s mayor told the Marine’s they don’t belong there and they should leave.

My immediate reaction was to wish for a way that we could defend the nation, except for Berkeley.

At a minimum, maybe all of our munitions could now be manufactured and labeled with a disclaimer, “Not intended for use in defense of the citizens of Berkeley, California,” or an apology, “We regret the use of this ammunition against you and your terrorist organization if Berkeley, California was the target of your next attack.”

And then I wondered if the oath for commissioning could be changed to “support and defend the Constitution of the United States (except as it applies to the citizens of Berkeley)…

But alas, the munitions labeling is unrealistic and the oath is what it is, taken without hesitation, reservation, or purpose of evasion, sworn to in total. No part of it can be preferred or ignored. In swearing to it, one not only submits him or herself to the mandates of the oath, but also to the irony of defending the rights of those who hate you simply because you’ve chosen to defend their right to do so.

Just the same, one can’t help but ponder at what point those domestic groups who stand so adamantly opposed to the defenders of our nation’s freedom become indistinguishable from those foreign groups who do the same, and thus themselves become one of the domestic enemies one has sworn to defend our nation against?

The actions of the Berkeley city council (and Code Pink), no matter how disagreeable one finds them, do not qualify as such. Their actions simply fall under the First Amendment, even when the Amendment gives them “the right to be idiotic,” as Senator DeMint of South Carolina stated in this case. But neither should their actions go unchallenged.

Ultimately, the actions of Berkeley’s city council and Code Pink are maddening, disgusting, and sad. Both groups, by their actions, have demonstrated themselves to be “the sheep,” truly fitting the “sheep, wolves, and sheepdog” analogy often associated with Lieutenant Colonel Dave Grossman, author of several books, including “On Combat.” As he says it, “We know that the sheep live in denial, which is what makes them sheep. They do not want to believe that there is evil in the world.” The sheep do not like the sheepdogs (the military) even though they protect them from those who mean them harm (the wolves). They don’t want the sheepdogs around. But when the wolves show up, they clamor for and try to hide behind the sheepdogs they loathe, demanding protection.

That’s exactly why the residents of Berkeley and Code Pink are sheep. They hate the military, and probably always will. But when the day comes that they’re attacked by the wolves, they’ll be the first and loudest screaming for protection.

While all of this makes sense if you understand that liberals like those of the Berkeley and Code Pink strains are prone to deciding and acting upon short term emotion instead of foresight and thoughtfulness, it is still sad.

A good friend of mine, a Lieutenant Colonel in the Marines and a true sheep dog described the Berkeley/Code Pink situation this way: “While I get somewhat upset by this, I am more saddened. I can't help but be reminded how dumb most sheep are…When the populace gets to the point that they don't want protection (sheepdogs), they will get the government that they deserve (wolves), and not the government that they want. As long as this sheepdog lives it will be the one that they want, but I can't guarantee that forever. Teach your children how to defend themselves. The day will come when they may need to because someone has muzzled all the sheepdogs.”

He’s exactly right. While the residents of Berkeley may loathe the Marines who protect them, they need to remind themselves of the consequences of not having a military to protect them from the foreign and domestic enemies the members of our military have sworn to defend even them against.