What Unites Us: Reflections on Patriotism

by Dan Rather

Rankin, a fierce critic of the Vietnam War, had a long history of political activism. In 1916, she had become the first woman ever elected to Congress, a Republican representative from Montana, confidently stating, “I may be the first woman member of Congress, but I won’t be the last.” Rankin was an avowed pacifist, and in 1917, she was one of only fifty representatives (and six senators) to vote against American entry into World War I. “I felt . . . the first time the first woman had a chance to say no to war, she should say it,” she explained. Rankin served one term, losing a race for Senate in 1918. But she was reelected to the House in 1940, just in time for another fateful vote. When the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, Rankin followed her pacifist conscience again and cast the sole vote against declaring war. “As a woman,” she said, “I can’t go to war, and I refuse to send anyone else.” This act of dissent was so unpopular that it ended her political career. I disagree strongly with Rankin’s vote on war with Japan. But I also feel that we are a better and stronger nation for having such voices. The role of dissent is to force all of us to question our dogmas and biases. It is to stretch the spectrum of discourse.