Reverend Paul McNellis of Democracy Project reminds us that, in the wake of the exposure of Scott Beauchamp's admitted falsehoods, he can still choose a different path for his life:
He stands at a crossroads with his whole his life before him. Frankly, I hope the demands of military justice are satisfied by merely letting him finish his service. He must live with himself among his betters, and for now that is both a fitting punishment and an opportunity. The opportunity is one to which Beauchamp himself alludes on a blog he kept while in Germany. (I’ve taken the liberty of turning his blogese into standard English.) Beauchamp writes:I know that NOT participating in a war (and such a misguided one at that) should be considered better than wanting to be in one just to write a book...but you know, maybe I’d rather be a good man than a good artist...be both? Some can and some can’t...I guess it all depends on how great an artist, or how great a man they want to be. Sometimes it feels like I have to choose between being totally loyal to thoughts of my future family OR totally loyal to chasing down the muse. Must find a middle ground.
The challenge of being a good man. Of course it’s the right question, but it’s a shame that Beauchamp thought of it as a middle ground held at the expense of moral compromise. [SNIP]
Pvt. Beauchamp has two choices.If the Army allows him to do so, I see no problem with that and I, for one, would like to discover later on that he has made amends to the Army, to his fellows, and, more importantly, to that potential man who he may choose to become.He can await his discharge and then return to testify before Congress as the victim veteran in the “proud of being ashamed” mode. He might even run for Congress himself. He wouldn’t be the first.
Or, he can use his remaining time in the military to earn an honorable discharge. He could try to leave the military as a better man than when he entered.
(Thanks to Blackfive, who also thinks that Beauchamp deserves a chance to fix things.)
