Arlington Cemetery And Us
Today, I’m on my way to Arlington Cemetery, to visit the grave of my parents. It is the eighth anniversary of my father’s death – at age 94+, just a couple of months shy of 95. He was a World War II veteran, who was wounded by shrapnel that killed the soldier fighting next to him, and left him with a scar on his right upper arm. He and my mother are in a section of Arlington Cemetery that appears to be where men and women who fought in World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam war, and their spouses are buried. Reading the gravestones, I conclude that most, if not all, came back from wars and died later. The gravestones bear Emblems of Belief, which provide additional clues into who each person was. As do the names on the gravestones, which seem to be from all of the ethnic groups that make up the United States.
I go to Arlington on all the requisite – for me – visiting days, and on some days because I just feel like it. It’s a beautiful place and an homage to the troops and their families who fought to keep the United States a democracy; a place where many of them and many of their ancestors had rights that their forefathers and mothers did not. Many risked their lives while their families in the US lived in segregated sections or were locked in camps. Arlington is the ultimate equalizer, even if Trump does not recognize it as such. And, since Trump was elected for the second time, the cemetery has new meaning.
I visit Arlington more often now, because I am concerned, maybe scared? Maybe terrified of what is going to happen to my parents’ remains? What must Trump, who has, evidently, zero spiritual sense and only the vaguest commitment to Christianity – although not a Christianity that so many observe – think of Arlington Cemetery? A place where “suckers and losers” to quote Mr. Trump are enshrined and their remains protected? What does that beacon of White Christian Fellowship, Secretary of Defense Hegseth think, especially about all the people who are identified as non-Christian? – As Ba’hai? As an Atheist? As Muslims of different sects? As Jews? How long before Mr. Trump sends armed National Guard troops into Arlington for some reason that has no basis in truth, no connection with reality? I think anyone who believes that to be unrealistic has not been watching.
Arlington Cemetery is and should be recognized as symbolic of the inclusive democracy that many have worked for decades to make the United States. The Cemetery stands today as emblematic of the democracy that many are working for today, in hopes of overwhelming Trump’s continual attacks. It is a place where the people Trump assaults and demonizes lie, forever, next to people who voted for Trump. We can and should look to Arlington Cemetery as a memorial to the sacrifices of those buried there; our grandparents, parents, children, siblings, family and friends who are sacred symbols of what so many did to ensure that our democracy survived. And a constant reminder of what Donald Trump is looking to destroy.
Margaret Henoch served in the Clandestine Service of the CIA for 25 years, at Headquarters and in the field, focusing on operations and counterintelligence and retiring as a Senior Intelligence Officer. She is a member of The Steady State.
Founded in 2016, The Steady State is a nonpartisan, nonprofit 501(c)(4) organization of more than 300 former senior national security professionals. Our membership includes former officials from the CIA, FBI, Department of State, Department of Defense and Department of Homeland Security. Drawing on deep expertise across national security disciplines including intelligence, diplomacy, military affairs and law, we advocate for constitutional democracy, the rule of law and the preservation of America’s national security institutions.