Courage or Complicity?: How Veterans Are Responding to the Assault on Democracy

For generations, America has thanked its veterans for their service but then forgotten promises made to them.

That’s why some former soldiers have always ended up on the barricades or picket lines, demanding justice for themselves or fellow workers back home. From Revolutionary War volunteers who later joined Shays’s Rebellion to World War I soldiers who staged a multiracial march on Washington to Vietnam War–era GIs who helped end the war they served in, such rank-and-file voices are hard to ignore.

In this timely collection of essays, reviews, and firsthand reporting, Steve Early and Suzanne Gordon trace that dissident legacy to the present day. They chronicle the critical role that disillusioned post-9/11 veterans now play in challenging MAGA Republicans and corporate Democrats over privatized healthcare, big money in politics, and ballooning Pentagon budgets. Inside these pages are stories of courage and complicity: veterans fighting to defend public healthcare from corporate takeover; resisting anti-union attacks; and opposing the use of federal troops for domestic policing and mass deportations. Their struggle is part of a broader fight for rights, dignity, and a better life for all poor and working-class Americans.

Courage or Complicity? is a searing indictment of political betrayal and a big salute to vets organizing against it. This book reveals the frontline battles shaping the future of American democracy.