mises | On Tuesday, Congressional impeachment hearings exposed an interesting
facet of the current battle between Donald Trump and the so-called deep
state: namely, that many government bureaucrats now fancy themselves as
superior to the elected civilian government.
In an exchange between Rep. Devin Nunes (R-CA) and Alexander Vindman,
a US Army Lt. Colonel, Vindman insisted that Nunes address him by his
rank.
After being addressed as "Mr. Vindman," Vindman retorted "Ranking Member, it's Lt. Col. Vindman, please."
Throughout social media, anti-Trump forces, who have apparently now
become pro-military partisans, sang Vindman's praises, applauding him
for putting Nunes in his place.
In a properly functioning government — with a proper view of military
power — however, no one would tolerate a military officer lecturing a
civilian on how to address him "correctly."
It is not even clear that Nunes was trying to "dis" Vindman, given
that junior officers have historically been referred to as "Mister" in a
wide variety of times and place. It is true that higher-ranking offers
like Vindman are rarely referred to as "Mister," but even if Nunes was trying to insult Vindman, the question remains: so what?
Military modes of address are for the use of military personnel, and no one else. Indeed, Vindman was forced to retreat on this point
when later asked by Rep. Chris Stewart (R-UT) if he always insists on
civilians calling him by his rank. Vindman blubbered that since he was
wearing his uniform (for no good reason, mind you) he figured civilians ought to refer to him by his rank.
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