When the Templin Institute investigates the factions and nations of alternate worlds,
we usually need to focus on the tangible details; facts and dates, structure and capabilities
- all the factors that are the most straightforward to dissect and discuss.
Harder to analyze is something like institutional culture; the shared values, behavior and norms
that shape the character of any organization.
Elements like professionalism, competence, ethics, integrity, cohesion, accountability
and a clearly defined mission or values are all incredibly important, but also difficult
to measure.
And when they’re working, they’re almost invisible.
But when institutional culture is neglected, you end up with a scene like this:
Compared to many workplace meetings or holidays dinners, this probably seems rather tame.
But the conduct of General Hera Syndulla, displayed here in speaking with New Republic
Senators, bears many of the traditional hallmarks of facism.
So much so that the Templin institute was forced to publicly and officially denounce
her behavior on social media earlier this year.
I know, serious stuff.
Compared to many workplace meetings or holidays dinners, this probably seems rather tame.
But the conduct of General Hera Syndulla, displayed here in speaking with New Republic
Senators really makes my skin crawl.
And on this episode of Incoming, I want to explain why.
But on Twitter and elsewhere, people reacted to this pretty much exactly how you’d expect
they would.
They took in what we had to say, faithfully considered it, and used it to inform their
own opinions.
This led to a healthy debate in the comments, in which the perspective of each side contributed
to a broader understanding of the issue.
Once again, Social Media helped to foster constructive debate by informed and passionate
individuals, let’s see what they had to say.
So let's quickly break down what was going on here.
After an incident with Imperial loyalists, Hera is requesting that a task force be sent
to the Denab system in order to gather more information on the possible return of Grand
Admiral Thrawn.
Her audience is unreceptive to her arguments so Hera calls out the especially hostile Senator
Xiono specifically for his lack of wartime service.
There’s a lot we could criticize here.
It seems odd for Senators to be so involved in what is essentially a minor incident, and
Hera’s report on that incident is about a sentence long before the conversation turns
to speculation and requests all without any real explanation or evidence.
Hera spends more time talking about her dumb kid than she does explaining her position.
On the other side of things, Senator Xiono seems more concerned with personal attacks
and pushing his own agenda than actually listening to what is being said.
This is a wide reaching conversation that moves from internal security to foreign threat
assessment to requests for a military intervention, and it's all handled with the same attention
and depth as idle chit chat.
There’s no deliberation or analysis, and the actions of everyone in this room just
seems to undermine the seriousness of the issue at hand.
But that’s not really what I wanna focus on, because when you strip out all these incongruous
details and instead focus on the basic dynamic of this meeting, what we’re really seeing
play out here, is one of the most important relationships that can exist in a democratic
society, the interplay between a civil government and its military.
It's often complicated and can be easily strained.
But the importance of that relationship should never be discounted.
A defining characteristic of a sovereign state is its monopoly on the use of force.
As the primary wielder of that force, military institutions inherently possess immense power.
Historically a nation's own army has often been the greatest threat to its own stability.
A dictator might try to solve this problem by ensuring the military is loyal to them
above all else.
This is a great solution for the Dictator, but not so much for the military or the nation.
Promoting people for their loyalty rather than their merit can lead to cronyism, fosters
corruption, and can destroy a military just as thoroughly from the inside, as any external
battlefield defeat.
Democracies by contrast, can adopt a more functional approach, one that maintains the
capability of their armed forces, while anchoring them firmly in democratic values and principles.
In this system, military power is expressly subordinate to elected civilian leadership,
there are robust systems of accountability and oversight and most importantly, the military
is an apolitical entity, dedicated to serving the nation rather than any individual or party.
This doesn’t mean that any senator or elected official can boss a General around, it instead
creates a clear hierarchy where the armed forces are responsive to civilian oversight,
but not subject to the whims of individual politicians.
But for this kind of system to actually work, the armed forces require a strong institutional
culture.
Military leaders at every level have to understand and embrace their role within the democratic
framework of the nation.
Officers cannot just be tacticians and strategists, they are custodians of the principles and
values upon which a nation is founded.
Active members of the armed forces are often held to a higher standard in this regard than
civilians, and that standard rises exponentially with their rank.
So with that added context, let’s revisit that meeting between General Hera and the
Senators.
A civilian government is exercising its responsibility to provide oversight and accountability over
the military.
This is not a bad thing.
But Syndulla doesn’t seem to respect the importance of this relationship.
As soon as she is confronted with even the most minor pushback on claims even she admits
had very little evidence, she becomes frustrated and resorts to a personal attack against a
Senator.
Now this is such a minor remark, but it carries with it enormous implications purely because
of who is saying it, and who it's being said to.
For a General to speak to an elected official this way, any official, is an attack on democratic
principles and compromises the professional neutrality of the Armed Forces.
This is not just a jibe against a hostile senator, but a broader disregard for the entire
democratic process.
In a small but important way, it begins to delegitimize every elected official.
This does not excuse the conduct of Senator Xiono.
I am of the opinion that as a General, Hera is entitled to the same level of respect afforded
to Senators, but we need to remember that this relationship is not equal.
Of the two people trading thinly veiled insults, one has been trusted with the responsibility
of directly exercising the state's monopoly on force.
The other is not.
But it's not only the fact that a New Republic General insulted a Senator during an official
meeting.
It’s the language she chose.
The implication is clear.
By not serving in the Rebellion against the Empire, Xiono is being subtly accused of lacking
moral authority and first hand experience.
Hera is trying to redirect the conversation in a way that sidelines any meaningful debate
in favor of some hierarchy of legitimacy based on personal history rather than a democratic
mandate.
But patriotism is not the exclusive domain of military veterans.
Not everyone fights for what they believe in by grabbing a blaster.
And just because a person didn’t fight in a war, doesn’t mean they weren’t affected
by it, or that they don’t have valuable perspectives and contributions to make in
shaping policy.
There was someone else in that room who more than anyone else, should have understood all
this.
Someone who should have recognized Hera’s remark for the thuggish attempt at bullying
it was, and the danger of its implications.
I am disappointed this person said nothing.
But one group I’m sure will have plenty to say are conspiracy theorists.
Some will certainly try to bring up the claim that Hamato Xiono is in fact an agent of the
First Order and is trying to undermine the New Republic from within.
And to them I say, I served with Hamato Xiono, Hamato Xiono was a friend of mine.
And you’re no Hamato Xiono.
Quayle: That was really uncalled for, Senator.
But in the interest of fairness, let’s imagine for a second that all of these accusations
are true and Xiono is trying to advance the interests of the First Order.
Does that change anything?
No.
The political beliefs of a Senator elected in accordance with the laws of the New Republic,
should carry no weight in how military representatives interact with them in an official capacity.
If there is evidence of corruption or criminal activity in the Senate there should be systems
and procedures in place to deal with it and those should be entirely separate from the
military.
It is not Hera’s job to police the activities of Senators.
Why is that?
Well Hera might not understand her role within a democratic system, but there is another
military leader who does.
Now if all Hera had done was mutter at some jerk in some Senate meeting, I think the Templin
Institute could let this slide.
People have bad days, apologize and be done with it.
But Hera disregarded orders, the Senators rejected her request to enter the Denab System
so she did it anyway.
And when she was threatened with a court martial, as she absolutely should have been, this was
her defense.
My job is to protect the people of this Republic
and that is exactly what I was doing in the best way I know how.
I see, and you protected the New Republic by ignoring direct orders?
No, I protected the New Republic by ignoring you.
Now Hera gets only a partial grade for being able to identify the purpose of her job.
Yes technically she is supposed to protect the people of the Republic, but you could
say that about essentially everyone in the New Republic Defense Forces.
What distinguishes a General and what Hera has repeatedly failed to understand is that
her job comes down to leadership.
It’s being expected to embody the highest standards of ethical conduct and decision
making.
It’s being responsible for the lives under your command and accountable for the outcome
of your actions.
Not only on the battlefield, but in senate meetings or wherever you wear the uniform.
It's recognizing that in a democratic system you might not always get what you want, and
you may have to carry out decisions you disagree with, and having the maturity to understand
that is a victory of the system, not a failure.
So if the best way you know how to protect the people of the Republic involves ignoring
their elected officials, politicizing their military, delegitimizing their civil authorities,
publicly bullying those who disagree with you, equating combat experience with patriotism,
and undermining the principles
of democracy, well…
there’s a word for that.