Just got this from Joe Wilson re the bill that outlaws falsely claiming military distinctions:
Wilson stated, “Our brave men and women who have willingly sacrificed their lives to protect and serve our country deserve our upmost respect, honor, and gratitude. The passage of today’s bill further protects the dignity of our Armed Forces. Individuals who dishonestly claim to have dedicated their lives to ensure the American people’s safety for their own personal gain deserve punishment. Their actions constitute criminal fraud and they should be prosecuted accordingly. As a proud original cosponsor of this legislation, I urge the Senate to take immediate action and look forward to the President signing this bill into law.”
But I can’t help thinking, why do we need such a law?
For the law to be applied, someone would have to get caught lying about military service, right? So… isn’t the shame and humiliation of having been caught trying to make yourself out to be a hero, and the real-life damage it would do to your reputation, enough?
Seems to me that the court of public opinion is pretty good at heavily punishing offenders on this score.
My Dad, the retired Navy captain, collects ballcaps, and has so many he’s constantly giving them away. A couple he’s given me tout the Navy or the Marine Corps. I like the caps, but don’t wear them because I would be mortified to have someone think I was letting on to be something I am not.
Maybe not everyone sees things that way. But I would think that anyone who valued military service enough to want a connection with it so badly as to lie about it would suffer considerably on being discovered. Don’t you think?
And why is it that sometimes it’s the limited-government types who are most eager to say, “There oughta be a law…”?
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“So… isn’t the shame and humiliation of having been caught trying to make yourself out to be a hero, and the real-life damage it would do to your reputation, enough?” – BW
Only for people who share our values, Brad. Our country’s population is now replete with about 50% of those who do not.
I am surprised that you seem to be surprised about the sad American status quo that now manifests those despising our free market, an honest day’s labor measured competitively, and claiming the right to distort every endowed (by our creator) liberty for the sake of personal distinction.
Shame and dishonor wasn’t enough to get Mr. Wilson to resign or even offer a reasonable apology. Obviously, he doesn’t understand how that works.
“And why is it that sometimes it’s the limited-government types who are most eager to say, “There oughta be a law…”?”
deflection
The only way I think this should be a law is if a person’s intent was to gain materially in some way. Wouldn’t that be fraud anyway? It’s really not illegal to lie unless it is under oath.
“I like the caps, but don’t wear them because I would be mortified to have someone think I was letting on to be something I am not.”
As a Navy vet I can tell you that wearing a command cap is no big deal. We constantly sold/ traded the hats from the ships store.
The only that that would sorta tic some people off was wearing dolphins or some warfare insignia that you didn’t earn.
LBJ would have been punished under this law, but then he might have been punished under a few others as well.
Except that Douglas MacArthur gave him his silver star pin.
LBJ was a naval officer during the war.
Yes. One might dispute whether LBJ’s Silver Star was earned (I wouldn’t, but some might), but he did receive it. So I don’t see how this law would apply to him.
This has already been litigated in…you know…the Supreme Court.
http://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/11pdf/11-210d4e9.pdf
There’s a certain amendment to the Constitution that applies….you know…the first one.
To me, lying about medals you did not receive is kind of like producing a video like the one that set off all those Muslim protesters — it’s stupid, shameful and even evil. But it isn’t against the law.
Although, now that I think about it a few more seconds … at some point producing videos that have absolutely no purpose other than sending ignorant, benighted people into a violent frenzy could be seen as akin to shouting “fire” in a crowded theater.
How are you going to show that the videos have no other purpose?
I don’t know. I guess the same way you’d show someone had no good reason to yell “fire” in that crowded theater…
Well, the good reason not yell “fire” is that you had no reasonable belief that there was one. Here, there can be “religious” or “artistic’ expression. The video existed for some time before the “Pastor” in Florida publicized it. It’s not like “Bacile” sent it to Al Jazeera.
I tried to watch the clips of the video but it was so bad that it would be a candidate for the old television show, MST 3000. After LMAO for about 5 minutes, I stopped the ridiculous thing.
I don’t think shouting “fire” in a theater suits the situation on this one. Maybe yelling “raid” in a house of ill repute might come closer.
I actually agree with Juan.
Shame and dishonor really is a dying idea in America.
We are now the land of Toddlers and Tiaras, and where a show about an obnoxious, bratty redneck kid named Honey Boo Boo is the highest rated tv show.