In 1972, I was a high school sophomore in San Jose California. The Vietnam war was still a topic of daily conversation. There were pictures of dead boys, only a few years older than me, hanging in my schools places of honor. These boys, who I did not know personally, made a choice to serve their country. It was an honorable choice. Others chose not to serve and faced prison time. Still others fled to Canada. I considered all those choices honorable. It was a moral dilemma that young men were forced to make.
It was during that year, 1972, that I saw my first ever presidential candidate in person. George McGovern came and spoke in San Jose. He spoke forcefully about ending the Vietnam war. This was important to me, because I didn't want to have to choose between fighting a war I thought was wrong, or facing prison. I was moved and although I couldn't vote, I did give a little money.
It was not until many years later that I found out that George McGovern was a real war hero. He was a man that flew 37 bombing missions over Germany. This spoke to me about the character of George McGovern...that he did not use his own personal war heroism for political gain. Both his war service and his political service were just that, a service to the nation he loved.
And that Brings us to Mitt Romney. Mitt was a supporter of the war in Vietnam, but he didn't go. He urged others to go and fight, while he got a deferment to be a Mormon missionary. I would think that the close quarters of military life in a combat zone would be the perfect opportunity for religious discussion and proselytizing. Apparently, Mitt disagreed.
Mitt Romney's choice during the Vietnam war was not an honorable one, but it is a choice that reflects the mans values.
You see, Mitt is all about Mitt. Let others bear your responsibility in war time. Put profits before people in business. Let the lies flow freely during a campaign, as long as the words serve Mitt.
What a contrast between the late George McGovern and Mitt Romney. One served in war and fought politically to save his younger countrymen from it's horrors. The other ducked his responsibility, and fights politically for the power to send young men and women to war.
Mitt Romney failed a real moral test when he took the position he did during Vietnam. Why should the country expect anything different from a President Romney?