In this moment, Veterans for American Ideals is respectfully submitting this letter to open endorsement from veterans across the country. If you have served in uniform and are as fed up as we are, we would ask you to add your name to this letter, so that we may show the nation that its veterans are committed to defending civil and human rights and oppose any misuse or politicization of our armed forces. Here is the text:


Fellow citizens,

We are veterans of our nation’s armed forces; we served our country in times of war and peace. As such, we feel obligated to speak out against the use of military and paramilitary forces against demonstrators who are expressing themselves under the protections of the First Amendment.

As veterans who have served in defense of human rights around the world, we must speak out about abuses here in the United States. Were we to be silent, we would be complicit. A government’s oppression of an ethnic minority would be unconscionable anywhere in the world, and it is especially reprehensible in the United States. Black people have survived human rights abuses for over four hundred years; it is long past time for that systematic targeting to stop.

The increasingly militarized law enforcement response to street protests is similarly concerning, as is the deployment of personnel from government agencies like Customs and Border Patrol, who are not trained or prepared to respond to situations such as these. National Guard deployments must be based on communities’ needs for assistance, not to further partisan agendas.
 
 We believe that protection from police brutality, defense of voting rights, decarceration, and the development of permanent paths to prosperity must be part of any plan to change the American experience for our fellow citizens who have been denied equality and justice for too long. As citizens, we will hold our elected leaders accountable for making these changes.

Throughout history, using combat troops against those petitioning government for redress always leads to human rights abuses and the demise of civil liberties. We will not allow this country to be dragged into authoritarianism.   We never want to see a confrontation between the armed forces of the United States and the citizens they swore an oath to defend and to serve.

Signed,

Name
Rank
Branch of Service




Download the full text of letter here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1SLJpftM35sHfppa_uUxZJu3hGPOfAYil/view?usp=sharing