Recognizing honor isn't always honorable: Christian Schneider

Carryn Owens is a brave woman. Her late husband, Navy SEAL Ryan Owens, who was killed during a January commando raid ordered by President Trump, is an American hero. The widow's willingness to stand and be recognized while fighting back tears at Trump's address to the joint session of Congress is a testament to her strength.

She was also taken advantage of by a politician starving to appear presidential during the most important speech of his life. A politician who sent her husband on a mission in Yemen beset with errors, for which Trump has received wide condemnation — including from Ryan Owens' father. On the morning of Trump's speech to Congress, the president tried to dodge responsibility for the death, blaming it on "the generals."

"They lost Ryan,” Trump told Fox News.

Both these preceding characterizations of his recognition of Carryn Owens can be — and are — true. By praising her husband, Trump cemented the soldier's legacy for all of history. But Trump clearly sought to wrap himself in the heroism the soldier displayed,a ploy to protect himself from further criticism over the unsuccessful mission.

Sadly, the point-at-the-gallery moments have become an all too common gimmick in major addresses. By inviting soldiers and military widows, presidents can attempt to imbue themselves with secondhand heroism. They simply hope that any association with people willing to risk their lives in defense of the country rubs off on them, and they're willing to use grieving human props to make their point.

For instance, in 2014, President Obama used a portion of his State of the Union Address to praise Army Ranger Cory Remsburg, who was nearly killed in a roadside bomb in Afghanistan in 2009. Naturally, Obama skipped any mention of the fact that Remsburg was in Afghanistan because Obama tripled U.S. forces stationed there.

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And let us not forget Hillary Clinton's generous use of Khizr and Ghazala Khan, Gold Star parents whose son was killed in Iraq in 2004. Notably, Trump insulted the Khan family's speech at last year's Democratic National Convention; it seems soldiers who die under his watch are far more deserving of honor.

Of course, that's not to say presidents shouldn't honor the heroism of America's soldiers. Trump could just as easily have praised Ryan Owens without an excruciating made-for-TV moment where Carryn stood in the gallery crying for two minutes.

But one can honor soldiers without turning their widows' grief into a self-serving ratings-grabbing moment. Take Ronald Reagan, perhaps the most media-savvy president America has had, who was able to honor the dead with words, not exploitative gestures. In his very first inaugural address, Reagan famously told the tale of World War I soldier Martin Treptow, who was killed while serving in France.

"We're told that on his body was found a diary," Reagan began. "On the flyleaf under the heading, 'My Pledge,' he had written these words: 'America must win this war. Therefore I will work, I will save, I will sacrifice, I will endure, I will fight cheerfully and do my utmost, as if the issue of the whole struggle depended on me alone.' "

Reagan was able to honor military sacrifice with words, not with self-aggrandizement. He didn't appear to be, as Shakespeare sneered in Richard III, "merely a politician, and studied only in his own ends."

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Undoubtedly, the temptation for Trump to wrap himself in the valor of a recently deceased soldier was too much to resist. Actors frequently win awards by playing historical figures who risked their lives in service of a cause, and yet the actor still benefits from the residual goodwill — despite being paid millions of dollars to dress up like someone who displayed actual bravery. Call it "dignity by proxy."

But simply exhuming culture does not create culture, just as recognizing honor does not, by extension, make one honorable. Secondhand compassion is not a thing, but it doesn't mean people won't try.

Ryan Owens died on a mission trying to aid America's fight against al-Qaeda. Let's hope the president didn't summon his widow to Congress on a mission to aid Trump's fight against sagging approval ratings.

Christian Schneider is a member of USA TODAY's Board of Contributors and a columnist for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Follow him on Twitter @Schneider_CM.

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