Congress Awards Itself Congressional Medal Of Honor

This article is a commentary on the powers of the legislative branch of our government. It describes the process through which Congress passed a certain law. This law stated that it was allowed to award the Congressional Medal of Honor not only to soldiers, but also to – surprise - congressmen. It then utilized this law and awarded the medal to its five-hundred-and-thirty-five members. The reason? It felt that they had done a good job legislating.

This article brings attention to the fact that congressmen can and do abuse their powers for their own benefit. They vote for the laws which improve their own situations. It was noted in the article that the aforementioned law was passed with an “overwhelming majority.”

This article also shows the nonchalance of the congressmen in regards to their actions. One of them responds to the claim that the Medal of Honor was not intended to be given to so many individuals at once with, “How does honoring more people cheapen the medal? I'm honored to be counted among so many other brave and patriotic Americans, past and present.” Another congressman goes on a rant as to which type of medal he would prefer – an Army, a Navy, or Air Force Medal of Honor – and pouts that there is no Marine Medal of Honor.

Overall, this article shows how politicians tend to put a slant on things. Although the actions of the congressmen are clearly wrong, they are unaffected as they calmly attempt to give reason and rationalize those actions.