Let Rudolph Serve - December 24, 2024
Everyone loves Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer – at least they do by the end of the story when he saves Christmas. At the beginning of the story, poor Rudolph was shunned by the other reindeer because his nose looks different. All Rudolph wanted to do was to pull Santa’s sleigh as reindeer in Christmastown are supposed to do, but while others were learning their craft by playing reindeer games like skating and coasting, they called Rudolph ugly names and wouldn’t let him join in. In the 1939 original version, it wasn’t until Santa got lost, even falling and hurting himself in the fog and the darkness, that he noticed Rudolph’s shining nose.
Robert L. May wrote the story based upon his experiences being bullied as a small, shy boy and by the Ugly Duckling Story. Millions of copies of the soft cover book were distributed for free by May’s employer, Montgomery Ward department store, but when May’s brother-in-law, Jonny Marks adapted the story into a song which was recorded by Gene Autry in 1949, it became a huge sensation.
The best-known version of the story is perhaps the stop-motion animation version which premiered on NBC in 1964 and aired on CBS for over five decades. Differing a bit from the original book, his parents tell him to hide his differences so he can be socially accepted. When Rudolph is exposed, and Santa sees his bright nose, his parents are told he won’t make the sleigh team if that glow doesn’t stop. He’s joined by an elf, Hermey, who is outcast because he doesn’t want to make toys like elves are supposed to, but he wants to be a dentist. They run away, discover their heroism, and come back to Christmastown to save his family and Christmas.
Over the weekend, President-Elect Trump stated that “with the stroke of my pen on day one we are going to stop the transgender lunacy, and…get transgender out of the military…” There are thousands of transgender service members today even after policy forbid their existence until the ban was lifted in 2016, only to have President Trump tweet a reinstatement of the ban in 2017, which was lifted by President Biden again in 2021.
Like Rudolph, many transgender persons try to suppress their feelings about who they are to conform to societal standards. Many become so distraught they run away from homes, from families, from their early lives and some do discover their strength and live authentically. They have experienced the name calling and social bulling that Robert May wrote about Rudolph suffering. A few of those are brave enough to do all this within the United States military, where they have sworn on their very lives to protect and defend our nation. This is the highest level of commitment possible.
So many of our transgender combatants, as they presently are leveraging their strength, have become exceptional military leaders receiving high praise and commendations from their commands and comrades. Perhaps one of these warriors may someday be the one who saves our nation, or maybe an anonymous hero already has, but only if they are allowed to continue to serve.