Honor, courage, commitment: How Navy and Marine Corps values can redeem America | Opinion

In 2021, the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance added the United States to its list of “backsliding democracies” for the first time. Their assessment called President Trump’s baseless attack on the legitimacy of the 2020 election results a “historic turning point” that “undermined fundamental trust in the electoral process.”

Trump’s lies culminated in the January 6th insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, which shattered our perfect record regarding the peaceful transition of power. For guidance, we should look to the core values of the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps—honor, courage and commitment.

Hear more Tennessee Voices: Get the weekly opinion newsletter for insightful and thought provoking columns.

American democracy is in crisis

Being honorable means being truthful and undivided—possessing integrity. The first lesson about honor that sailors and marines are taught is that they are accountable for their conduct. The second value celebrates courage, defined as “the moral strength to do what is right, even in the face of temptation or adversity.” The third is commitment, emphasizing respect for all people and continued dedication to the first two values.

When Republican Senator and retired Navy Captain John McCain passed away in 2018, the liberal author and retired Navy Senior Chief Malcolm Nance commented on how our nation had lost more than one man: “It was about honor. This is what we’re missing today. This is why we’re all sad. A legacy of American honor is just gone.” A former SERE instructor who knew the details of McCain’s heroic conduct as a POW during the Vietnam War, Nance said nothing about their political differences. A common commitment to honor and integrity puts policy differences into perspective.

President John F. Kennedy’s family created the Profile in Courage award to honor the decorated naval officer and to recognize public officials who exemplify the spirit of his Pulitzer Prize winning book. In her acceptance of the award in May, Rep. Liz Cheney appealed to us all: “In a republic, there are no bystanders, there are no spectators. As citizens, every one of us has a duty to set aside partisan battles and stand together to perpetuate and preserve our great republic.”

Hear from Tennessee's Black voices: Get the weekly newsletter for powerful and critical thinking columns.

During the Watergate scandal, two Tennessee lawyers emerged as leaders in their commitment to putting the country first and holding those in power accountable: Senator Howard H. Baker, Jr. and James F. Neal. Baker was a Republican and like JFK, a WW II PT Boat commander. Neal was a Democrat and a Marine Corps officer.

Widely respected as the “Great Conciliator,” Howard Baker was also a partisan Republican with a conservative record. But his non-partisan service on the Senate Committee investigating Watergate is his most enduring legacy. Baker said, “We worked together. We understood that there were some things more important than gaining immediate partisan advantage.”

James Neal was arguably the best trial lawyer in America for nearly half a century. He served as Chief Trial Counsel for the Watergate Special Prosecution Force and secured convictions of the U.S. Attorney General and other top White House officials. His summation in the trial was a powerful civics lesson. Neal said, “If government officials commit crimes, if they cover up their mistakes, or assault the temples of justice, then, when these things occur, society must call those responsible to account.”

The world is watching to see how America answers the question Lincoln posed in the Gettysburg Address. Can a nation based on ideas and values long endure? John Paul Jones, the Father of the American Navy, understood the issue well when he said, “The stature of our homeland is no more than the measure of ourselves.”

Mark Dudney of Cookeville is an author, historian and former history instructor at Tennessee Tech.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Military values can restore integrity and honor back in America