Thirty years ago, more than half of the members of Congress were veterans — many from the World War II generation. Recently, that number has hovered around 20 percent — a decline that some observers link to a loss of civil discourse and bipartisan compromise. With only about 1 percent of Americans serving, there’s also a gap of understanding between vets and civilians.
Which is what brings comedian Pete Davidson into this story.
Davidson made a joke on Saturday Night Live the weekend before Election Day, making fun of Texas Republican Dan Crenshaw for wearing a black eye patch. Crenshaw lost his eye to a bomb blast during his third combat deployment. He recovered, remained in active duty, and deployed twice more before a medical retirement in 2016. A year later, he returned to Texas and launched a bid for Congress.
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