Wednesday Morning Rant

One element of our culture war - perhaps the element of the culture war - is the running battle of symbols. Cultural symbols are always destroyed by a conquering force. The vanquished's old symbols are razed and the conqueror raises his own in their place. Whether it's a likeness of Stalin in Budapest or of Hussein in Baghdad or a street name in Detroit, symbols count. The powers that be erect theirs and destroy others.

Sometimes there's a nod to historical or cultural value that allows some symbol or treasure to survive, but sometimes not. Red China still has the Forbidden City despite the destruction of the "Four Olds" during the Cultural Revolution, but no non-Islamic symbols stand in Afghanistan. When the cultural shift happens as a result of shooting war, this process is usually fairly fast - the statue topples, the church is razed, and the new potentate puts up new stuff. When the war is primarily cultural, it's slower and muddier. Subversion is never as fast as direct assault, though it can be more successful.

For the first time in recent memory, one has finally gone our way. In what is likely just the first act in this theater of the culture war, Hegseth's Defense Department is beginning to do away with subversive ship names. Assuming the report is true, first up: oilers. First oiler: USNS Harvey Milk.

Something I didn't know before is that apparently all of our modern oilers are named after "civil rights icons." USNS Harvey Milk was christened during the Obama Administration by Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus. Milk was a Navy man, but that isn't why they named the ship after him. They named the ship after him for being a gay activist, and it's now to be rechristened under a new name yet to be announced. Per the article, neither the choice nor the timing are coincidental, as well they shouldn't be:

Military.com reviewed a memorandum from the Office of the Secretary of the Navy -- the official who holds the power to name Navy ships -- that showed the sea service had come up with rollout plans for the renaming of the oiler ship USNS Harvey Milk.

A defense official confirmed that the Navy was making preparations to strip the ship of its name but noted that Navy Secretary John Phelan was ordered to do so by Hegseth. The official also said that the timing of the announcement -- occurring during Pride month -- was intentional.

... the memo reviewed by Military.com noted that the renaming was being done so that there is "alignment with president and SECDEF objectives and SECNAV priorities of reestablishing the warrior culture," apparently referencing President Donald Trump, Hegseth and Phelan.

Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., the former House Speaker who represents much of San Francisco, in a statement Tuesday called the decision to rename the ship "a surrender of a fundamental American value: to honor the legacy of those who worked to build a better country."

And more may be on the way:

CBS reported Tuesday that the Navy is also considering renaming other John Lewis-class oilers including the USNS Thurgood Marshall, USNS Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and USNS Harriet Tubman. ... Unlike the Milk, though, some of the ships being considered for renaming have yet to be completed.

"Our military is the most powerful in the world -- but this spiteful move does not strengthen our national security or the 'warrior' ethos," she added.

The battle may finally - again assuming that the report is true - be amping up. Renaming the oilers, Trump forbidding modern architecture for government buildings, etc. are all important plays in the ongoing battle for American culture. The timing of the Harvey Milk rename is as stupendous as the act itself. It is - if you will pardon the expression - a bit more than a "shot across the bow." It's a broadside, and it's been a long time coming. The only potential concern I have is how Military.com got early access to the memo. If it was leaked, Hegseth needs to find and punish the leaker.

Renaming a ship or rejecting their architectural perversions are perhaps little things, but they are also a clear signal that there is a counteroffensive under way. Hegseth is off to a very strong start in his big job to undo some of the subversion of our military over the past decade or so, and this action widens the campaign as it clearly targets leftist symbols for destruction, shouting that there is no place for leftist cultural revolution in the United States military. That's a good thing because symbols do matter and halting the destruction of our symbols and imposing the destruction of theirs is long overdue.

posted by Joe Mannix at 11:15 AM

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