This may annoy free speech fundamentalists
By Jack Lewis
Attorneys for Rick Strandlof, who claimed to be a decorated combat veteran, had argued that the act was an unconstitutional violation of free speech. A federal district court judge agreed, dismissing the charges against Strandlof.
In an opinion (PDF) issued this morning, two of the three judges on a 10th Circuit panel upheld the act, saying lies are not worthy of constitutional protection. A third judge dissented, saying he believes the act violates free speech.
The Supreme Court has agreed to have their say. I confess that I don’t see the social value of this particular form of lie beyond satire and social criticism, which are already protected.
Here is, I believe, the rub: phony “heee-roes” pimping chestfuls of unearned medals grant themselves a license to do rather broad harm to veterans, harm that may be difficult to quantify but is not difficult to identify.
Medal fraud casts entire veterans organizations in a dubious light (IVAW would be a somewhat recent example), harming their ability to raise funds and recruit members. Fraudulent service claims also dilute the negotiating power of veterans in an era when the disconnect between civil society at large and the military subculture is perhaps wider than ever.
Claims that are made in the service of financial or career goals can serve to elevate liars into positions of public trust (I hear you laughing, but it’s not something we should encourage); moreover, they also seize an advantage that was set aside for someone else — someone who anted into the pot in good faith.
Not only veterans are harmed by fraudulent claims of service. Sufficient growth of cynicism regarding the integrity of those who (claim to) serve must inevitably erode confidence in the military and consequently damage the ability of government to raise and field an effective force.
It’s also a favored means of helping to secure personal considerations, from getting laid to pulling down a loan. Ironically, you’ll rarely find actual decorated service vets “trading” on their records (outside politics, anyway) — which leaves the field fallow and tempting for con men.
Freedom of speech isn’t absolute, nor should it be. You don’t get to yell “FIRE!” in a crowded theater because of the strong possibility (not the certainty) that people might be hurt, the certainty that they will be inconvenienced — and the fact that the action is indefensible on its merits.
That which has no value may be disposed of without harm to anyone.
I’ve yet to see a fraudulent service claim that was defensible on its merits, and they are frequently harmful to one or more citizens (usually to include the liar). As a tiny example, a Good Conduct Medal will get you a free meal and a haircut every Veterans Day, and GCMs are about eight bucks online. Why should businesses get taken for a ride when they’re trying to do someone a solid?
One place where fraudulent claims are always criminalized is on military recruitment forms. Seems to me that those who were required to be straightforward in order to serve deserve to have their reputations protected from those who didn’t.
Please note that satire and social commentary are — and must remain, IMO — protected classes of speech, although I confess that I bristled a bit when I saw John Lennon strutting around in an Ike jacket with full 2ID regalia. Still… public commentary. He certainly wasn’t trying to convince anyone he’d been in service.
Maybe I just feel it’s one of my particular oxen that gets gored by phonies. I’m trying to think of a compelling reason that they shouldn’t be gored in return. “We have to protect liars until they harm somebody” doesn’t do it for me. Willful prevarication is a harm and is punished in many ways across many venues: the military itself, academia, research, the stock exchange, public and private employment… pretty much everywhere but politics.
May explain the high public approbation Congress enjoys.
Born in Portland, Oregon, Jack Lewis is a middle-aged curmudgeon of catholic writing proclivity. In 2006, Jack contributed two chapters to Operation Homecoming: Iraq, Afghanistan and the Home Front (ed. Andrew Carroll, Random House 2006). Those writings stemmed from his service leading a tactical psychological operations team in NW Iraq during 2004-2005. He is also a contributing editor for Motorcyclist.