Michael Gruber
Sartell
In the Sept. 20 edition of The Newsleaders, Janagan Ramanathan (guest opinion columnist) expressed his wish that the Sartell-St. Stephen School Board would function “the way a military unit does,” and that the board should respect the “chain of command.”
He then criticized Army combat veteran, Purple Heart recipient and Ranger School graduate/school board member Scott Wenshau for allegedly failing to act with the appropriate deference to this chain of command. Ramanathan described this as “ironic,” given Wenshau’s experience as a service member.
As someone with significant combat experience while serving in light-infantry platoons in Afghanistan, I do NOT think our school board, or any civilian government institution, should function like a “military unit,” and that such thinking is profoundly dangerous. The top of the “chain of command” in a democratic republic terminates with self-governing citizens who vote for elected representatives, who then make decisions on their behalf. These representatives are then subject to regularly scheduled elections. The chain of command does not terminate with unelected appointees who are unaccountable to the voting public.
Interestingly, Ramanathan’s reported military experience, which he apparently used to justify his ideal of civilian organizations functioning like military units, is the sum of two total years he spent at the U.S. Naval Academy before he resigned due to a “disqualifying medical condition.”
I took great personal offense to this column. Please do not denigrate the honorable service or character of this country’s veterans for ostensibly failing to meet standards you have never personally met.