Silence should not be an option. It is our silence that is damaging our nation the most. I know that I am not silent, but I can tell that by the reaction to what I write, too many are either too afraid to speak up and be counted, or that too many are just burying their heads in the sand and just trying to ignore what is going on around them and what is gripping the nation and ripping it apart. Instead of American pride, what we have is racism, bigotry, and hatred that is eroding the heart of this once great nation. The American exceptionalism that is ripping apart America was on full display at the Ryder Cup. The entire world witnessed it, and the world as a whole was appalled by what they saw. It is bad enough to watch the bigotry and racism that ICE brings to the table, but to treat invited guests and their families as what happened at the Ryder Cup shows how much we as a nation have fallen. 

President Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth summoned 800 generals and admirals to Quantico last week. Not only was it a serious security problem, but it also shows how little respect those two have for the safety of our nation. This was not a strategic briefing; this was a staged loyalty spectacle. A good terrorist attack and our entire military stability would have been severely damaged, and for what? The idea of making the nation safer was not the intent. This is straight out of the Hitler playbook to try to create loyalty to Trump and not loyalty to the oath that they took to defend and protect our Constitution. Trump's racially charged remarks conflating nuclear weapons with the N-word, and Hegseth’s call for ideological purging of officers who reject his worldview. In a room that included many Black generals, the silence was deafening.

When the multiple draft dodging Commander-in-Chief entered the room, I think he was expecting these proud men to applaud him like he was some inspiring hero. He said, “I have never walked into a room so silent before… If you want to applaud, you applaud.” He also threatened them with dismissals, “If I don’t like somebody, I’m gonna fire them right on the spot.” He stated, “If you don’t like what I’m saying, you can leave the room. Of course, there goes your rank, there goes your future, but you just feel nice and loose, ok?” Threatening our armed services is not a way to inspire strength. All it does is weaken our nation even more. He referenced nuclear weapons using a racial slur euphemism, “There are two N-words and you can’t use either of them.” There were many Blacks in the audience, but he just didn’t care who he offended. He described domestic dissent as an “invasion from within”, suggesting cities could be used as military training grounds. Claimed credit for ending multiple wars, including the Israel-Hamas conflict resolution that had not occurred as he was talking. He spoke incoherently and meandered, raising concerns about his mental fitness.

Our unqualified Secretary of Defense announced new fitness and grooming standards and “woke policies”. He mocked what he called “Fat Generals”. He urged officers to conform to his worldview or resign. He stated, ‘If the words I’m speaking today are making your heart sink, you should do the honorable thing and resign.” In reality, like Trump, he is threatening them with dismissal. He, too, framed the military’s role as defending against internal threats, not just foreign enemies. Who are these internal threats? The last internal threats that I saw were the January 6^th insurgents, and Trump pardoned all of those. It is apparent that the Trump Administration wants to use the military against American citizens who dissent from Trump's agenda. This can only be described at this point as a fascist agenda.

The message they presented was not received very well. Retired General  Barry McCaffrey called the event “one of the most bizarre, unsettling events I’ve ever encountered”, describing Trump as “incoherent, exhausting, rabidly partisan”.  Senator Jack Reed condemned the meeting as “an expensive, dangerous dereliction of leadership”, warning that it undermined the principle of non-partisan military. Senator Reuben Gallego mocked the event, “We flew every general from across the world for this. This meeting could have been an email.” Defense officials expressed concern over the strategic risk of gathering so many of the top military officers in one place, calling it a “waste of time” and “inexcusable.” Social media users and commentators described Trump’s behavior as narcissistic and authoritarian. Some invoked Orwellian comparisons, suggesting the meeting resembled a loyalty test or propaganda spectacle. I think that it was a challenge for the military to reject their oath to the Constitution and pledge their allegiance to Trump. I think that Trump is trying to erode the Civil-Military relationship of the military by undermining the apolitical nature of the armed forces. He is normalizing threats by authoritarian gestures. I can’t help but feel that he is trying to purge the military leadership based on political loyalty. That is what Hitler did, and that is the truth.

Sometimes silence can speak louder than thunder, and the silence at that meeting spoke volumes. In the end, though, silence cannot be an option. All leaders, including leaders of minority persuasion, need to speak out publicly. Whether through op-eds, interviews, or congressional testimony, their voices are needed more now than ever. Fear of speaking out only weakens our nation. This is not about politics. It’s about the principle that our forefathers dreamed for our nation. The oath to defend the Constitution does not expire when the cameras roll or the threats get personal. The Quantico meeting was a test – not only a test of loyalty, but of courage. All generals have passed harder tests, especially the Minority Generals. It is more important now than any time in our history that patriots stand up and defend our Constitution and our Republic. Our Constitution was written just so that we as a nation never have to endure what Trump is trying to force upon our nation.