The Chickenhawk Slur

On Veterans Day, I noticed that more than a few left-wing websites decided it was an opportune time to break out the “chickenhawks” slur again. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the word or who associate it with its more vulgar meaning, when the left uses the term, they are generally referring to a foreign policy hawk who has not been in the military and is not seeking to join up. You see, they’re of the opinion that only those who have actually fought in the military or who are willing to do so, should be able to advocate war. Of course, that’s not exactly what you’d call a “well reasoned argument,” but keep in mind that we’re talking about people who think that carrying a giant puppet head at an anti-war rally run by Communists passes for an eloquent statement about the war on terrorism.

But one has to wonder if these same people think of Woodrow “we must make the world safe for Democracy” Wilson as “Chickenhawk” Wilson? After all, Wilson, the man who launched our country into WW1, had been a professor of political science before he got into politics, not a military man. Then there’s FDR, a gentleman who certainly couldn’t be called a pacifist. In fact, old Franklin “Chickenhawk” Roosevelt led our country into the bloodiest war this planet has ever seen. Was he wrong to have done that since he never served in the military? Most of us would say “no,” but you have to wonder if the people who’re today hooting “chickenhawk” would disagree. We could even look to Bill Clinton and wonder why a President who not only didn’t serve in the military, but once wrote in a letter that he “loathed the military,” was not branded with a scarlet “Chickenhawk” for his rather aggressive foreign policy in Somalia, Bosnia, Kosovo, & Haiti. (Cont)

***Note***: Reference to Abe Lincoln’s lack of military service was removed from this editorial. It seems that Abe did very briefly serve as part of a militia during the Black Hawk War of 1832.

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