Of all the unforgettable characters from M*A*S*H 4077, one of the most important characters is Reverend Francis John Patrick Mulcahy, Chaplain, United States Army. A most courageous and kind person, a character full of intestinal fortitude, with a deep desire to help the living, and a solid right hook when needed. Father Mulcahy has always been a hero of mine, and I wanted to explain why, as a tribute to both the character and the actor William Christopher.
Father Mulcahy:
“This isn’t one of my sermons. I expect you to listen.”
Humility is not a weakness!
Of all the attributes of Father Mulcahy, his humility always shines through. From his unfailing kindness to seeing the best potential anyone can have, to representing the best of what the Chaplains Corps means, William Christopher, as Father Mulcahy, produces flawlessly the sentiment that humility is a strength, a desirable, needed strength. Consider the episode where Father Mulcahy belts the unruly and demanding lieutenant in the jaw, the episode where Father Mulcahy rides in a helicopter as a counterweight or the episode where Klinger and Major Burns get into it over a scarf, and Father Mulcahy talks Klinger into giving him a grenade. Never do you see Father Mulcahy backing down, giving up, or losing sight of the potential goodness of a person.
Father Mulcahy struggles with the US Army’s ineptitude to promote him to Captain in a couple of episodes. Even as he struggles, you see Father Mulcahy learn invaluable lessons, teach kindness, forthrightness, and compassion, and diligence, and reliance upon the strength that only comes through commitment to something greater than oneself. Father Mulcahy’s strength is one of the glues that held M*A*S*H as a TV show together for as long as it ran. Why; because Father Mulcahy was genuinely genuine!
Consider the episode where Father Mulcahy sits down with Colonel Potter shortly after Klinger takes over for Radar as company clerk. Who else could have talked Colonel Potter down without talking down to Colonel Potter and allowed Colonel Potter the opportunity to act without disrespecting his rank and position? Who else could counsel Major Houlihan, chastise Captains Pierce, Honeycutt, and Trapper John, hold Major Burns’ feet to the fires of accountability, and seamlessly interface between the enlisted and officers? Nobody! Better still, Father Mulcahy did all this while epitomizing the Rudyard Kipling poem, “If.”
If—
By Rudyard Kipling
(‘Brother Square-Toes’—Rewards and Fairies)
If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies,
Or being hated, don’t give way to hating,
And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise:
If you can dream—and not make dreams your master;
If you can think—and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build ’em up with worn-out tools:
If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breathe a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except for the Will, which says to them: ‘Hold on!’
If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with Kings—nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,
And—which is more—you’ll be a Man, my son!
From an interview with William Christopher, we find that Father Mulcahy was not just a character played but a person in reality.
How did you and Barbara survive the many disappointments caused by failed interventions when Ned was young? For example, the assessment of one doctor that he was “retarded,” and nothing could be done other than to “take him home and love him.”
We regarded this particular guy as a young psychologist who may not even have finished his studies. Maybe he was still in his early practice, a student who hadn’t earned his doctorate yet. In any case, we felt he was in the wrong field. We thought he couldn’t possibly know us and advise us to just accept a limited life for our son…. But we both believed that people make mistakes.
Humor is a Prerequisite Quality
Father Mulcahy always used humor to express himself.
“Major Winchester was a blessing. May the good LORD never bless me with him again!”
Some of the funniest lines in M*A*S*H belong to Father Mulcahy, and unless you are listening closely, they are often missed for the banter between the central characters. Consider the episode where the company sings the M*A*S*H version of “Gee Ma; I wanna go home.”
“A chaplain in the Army
Has a collar on his neck,
If you don’t listen to him
You’ll all wind up in heck.”
Humor plays an incredible role in facing traumatic situations and coming through, not unscathed but mentally capable, confident, and more able to achieve. Father Mulcahy teaches us this lesson in spades, with dignity, class, and a ripping sense of humor.
Father Francis Mulcahy:
“Try to be compassionate. Remember, even one of our saints received a Dear John letter.”
Don’t be passive – Be Active – Work Hard
There is a story about how William Christopher got sick with Hepatitis, and the show’s producers wanted to remove Father Mulcahy’s role entirely. Instead, Alan Alda went to bat for William Christopher, changed the scripts, and wrote Father Mulcahy’s sickness into the show to keep Father Mulcahy on M*A*S*H. Why would Alan Alda do something like this for a co-star? There are several reasons; Alan Alda was a good person. William Christopher was a good person. But William Christopher was always working hard; he was not supposed to carry litters and all the other stuff he was always doing in the background. William Christopher set a standard of behavior that modeled what a chaplain was supposed to do, and military chaplains copied his behaviors, mannerisms, behaviors, attitudes, and work philosophies.
Consider this for a moment; military chaplains learned how to be chaplains by watching a fictional character, imitating a US Army unit on a Hollywood set. Reality has been changed to emulate fiction because fiction better reflects how people should act in reality. I was not the only chaplains assistant who measured his chaplain by Father Mulcahy. It is gratifying to know that many chaplains in the military have measured themselves against Father Mulcahy, found themselves wanting, and then worked to improve how they responded.
Name an episode where Father Mulcahy is not working, and I will show you an episode of M*A*S*H that was never made. Father Mulcahy was always available, always cheerful, and constantly engaged in a good cause, as he himself said, “to be helpful to the living.” Carrying towels, standing in for a nurse, providing an extra set of hands in surgery, comforting a patient, nurse, soldier, patient, always there, always caring. One of the most poignant episodes is when the Bishop of the Catholic church is coming for a visit, but a soldier wants to give blood for his buddy, and he finds out he has leukemia, and Father Mulcahy spends all night, not on his sermon, but talking to this young wounded soldier. Take a page from Father Mulcahy; working hard is not going to kill you. Engage!
Father Francis Mulcahy:
[Wearing a dress] While I was showering, someone stole my robe and left me this… this… house frock!
Corporal Maxwell Q. Klinger:
Better not take it off, Father, or you’ll be a defrocked priest!
Father Mulcahy:
How would you like to get last rites, [raises his fists] and a few lefts?
Standing for your Convictions is Mandatory
Father Mulcahy:
“How dare you! You seek refuge in this house of the Lord when it serves your purpose. Then when it’s no longer convenient, you desecrate it by pointing a deadly weapon at another human being. Private, a faith of convenience is a hollow faith.”
The episode this quote comes from is where the mess tent is being used for services, fresh eggs had been donated, and a soldier comes in seeking ecclesiastical refuge and is AWOL from his unit. This episode has always been a favorite of mine; it has come back in times of stress and trial when the harder right and the easier wrong conflict, and I have the choice to make about which to follow. Father Mulcahy always chooses the moral high ground, the harder right, instead of the easier wrong, and the lessons he taught through living are not easily forgotten or pushed aside. I might not be as practiced in the execution of living the harder right, but I cannot choose the easier wrong, and that makes all the difference.
Father Mulcahy:
“Klinger, the Lord moves in mysterious ways, but you take the cake.”
© 2021 M. Dave Salisbury
All Rights Reserved
The images used herein were obtained in the public domain; this author holds no copyright to the images displayed.
During much of the 1980s G. I. Joe cartoons had a commercial that ended, “Knowing is half the battle.” In the spirit of “knowing,” the following is a discussion on the US Bill of Rights. The US Bill of Rights is the first 10 amendments to the US Constitution. Many people think that the US Constitution begins with these 10 amendments, and there remains significant ignorance over what is said, and what is meant, in the US Bill of Rights. Finally, the US Bill of Rights, or the first 10 amendments, was passed by the US Congress and ratified by the states too, “… Prevent misconstruction or abuse of its (US Government) powers, that further declaratory and restrictive clauses should be added, and as extending the ground of public confidence in the Government, will best ensure the beneficent ends of its institution.”
Amendment 3 states: “No Soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the Owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law.” The language of this amendment, particularly, never ceases to amaze me. In order to protect the liberty of individuals, soldiers cannot be housed in a citizen’s home; thus, protecting the ability and freedoms of thought and property from unlawful government intrusion.
Consider how the Patriot Act, a horribly misnamed piece of legislation, allows for warrantless searches in the name of protecting America. Like the Affordable Care Act produced the reverse and increased the cost of health care while reducing the quality of health care, the Patriot Act has stripped patriots of safety in their property, papers, and so forth. 2018 had two cases argued before SCOTUS regarding warrantless searches and seizures; warrantless search and seizure is unconstitutional, yet they occur. The two cases of warrantless searches were both decided by SCOTUS in the petitioner’s favor (Collins v. Virginia & Byrd v. Government). SCOTUS has ruled on cellphone data, and many regarded that law as dangerous due to the argument that survives that since the government owns the technology the cell phone providers use, then the individual users have no right to privacy or constitutional protections by using cellular phones, cellular data, and where that user goes is able to be scrutinized without warrants.
Amendment 6 states: “In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defence.” When it comes to legalese muddying the intelligence of an issue, I have not found anything more convoluted than the definition of a “
Amendment 9 states: “The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.” Rights of the people, the US Constitution, and the individual constitutions of each state and commonwealth in the American Union, cannot infringe upon other rights of the people as they individually dictate. How did we American Citizens lose sight of this amendment and what it means? How did we lose the US Constitution? Under Amendment nine FISA Courts should never have been established. The right to die without health care intervention is encapsulated in the ninth amendment, but somehow this has been lost. I remember distinctly losing the classroom debate that assisted suicide is a right under the ninth amendment; I also remember the day when states started passing laws to counter assisted suicide. Consider the case of Boston Children’s Hospital v. Justina Pelletier, and you will find the ninth amendment abused and tattered by the hospital bureaucracy, as well as horrible malpractice.
The politicians, from both major parties, are guilty of government overreach and unconstitutional power grabs at the city, county, state, and federal government levels. America must stand, to survive America must return to the roots established by the US Constitution. Yes; this means getting the government out of Social Security, Welfare, and butting its nose into the rights and liberties of the individual citizen. Consider the following, a whale and the ocean. Does the government represent the whale or the ocean? For if the government is the ocean, then the wale is reliant upon the government. But, if the whale is the government, then we the citizens of America are the ocean and the government is dependent upon us. The US Constitution claims the government is the whale and we the citizens are the ocean, and the government depends entirely upon the consent of the governed.
I speak by way of invitation; join me, revoke your consent to be governed by these totalitarians!
Beginning with the US Constitution’s Preamble, a person will find why the government was instituted. “… in order to form a more perfect Union (government), establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity.” The politicians who have sworn an oath to uphold the US Constitution who deny these statements are already guilty of treason and breach of office. Domestic tranquility cannot be achieved through the rule of the mob. Domestic tranquility cannot magically appear, it must be built through law and order, through justice and mercy before the bar of justice, and must be fought for when tyranny rears its ugly head. The general welfare of the population can only be established by obedience to the just laws of the society to which a person belongs. Defunding the police tramples the welfare of society, domestic tranquility, and calls for the defense of the rule of law by every freedom-loving person in that society.
One of the clearest lessons discovered in life is that of genetic behavior, usually to the shame of the person witnessing their behavior being acted upon by others. We pass behavior onto our children, our acquaintances, and our circles of influence. The problem with genetic behavior is that of exponentialism or the exponential growth between generations. Research supports that cheating behavior in high school is found in cheating an employer later in life. Research also relates that those witnessing the cheating behavior will then steal. The third generation of people the behavior is passed onto will steal bigger items, cheat more, and commit more crimes. The cycle just keeps building until the criminal justice system is full of hard crimes committed.
Thus, freedom-loving people, who support justice, desire domestic tranquility, seek to provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare and well-being of others, and work tirelessly to secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, witness these politicians and want them removed, and held accountable for their crimes. Not to punish without cause, but to support the common good in America. The reason we have courts, lawyers, judges, etc. is to separate the crimes committed from the criminal committing. This is the epitome of the word justice. The US Criminal Justice System is imperfect, without doubt, but it remains the best system the world has ever seen and deserves support from law-abiding and freedom-loving people.
Make no mistake, I am not advocating for the refusal of these people to have their day in court, before an impartial judge, to be sentenced for their crimes, and held accountable before the bar of justice. I am advocating that until their trials can be arranged, they deserve to be held in prison awaiting the slow turning of the wheels of justice. When you break the peace of society, you give up your rights and liberties; thus, these mob members deserve to be held and witness their rights to habeas corpus rescinded.
COVID-19 does not represent a sufficient “imminent danger” to refuse or interfere with commerce passing between states. The “public health measures” enacted by the various state governors are a travesty of justice, unconstitutional, interferes with the rights and liberties of the people, and damaging the commerce and economy of the United States. Where are the politicians at the Federal Level to correct these abuses?
A legal dictionary provides a slightly broader definition of treason, “The offense of attempting by overt [or covert] acts to overthrow the government of the state to which the offender owes allegiance or to kill or personally injure the sovereign or the sovereign’s family. The betrayal of a trust: treachery.” Therein lies the justification for labeling the actions of politicians who breach the public trust with treason, the politician who breaks their oath of office to support and defend the US Constitution is committing treason.
Every member of the US Military swears an eternal commitment to upholding this document, to securing the rights and laws of the United States as prescribed therein, and to follow the orders of the commander in chief before God. I have had the privilege of taking that oath six times in my life.
During my military service, I read a quote, applicable to the relationship between politicians working to destroy America and freedom lovers who support the US Constitution “No truer friend; no fiercer enemy!” No truer friend can be found than I in the support of the US Constitution and the Bill of Rights. No fiercer enemy can be found than I to those working to suppress the US Constitution and the Bill of Rights; “So, help me, God!”.
According to the US Constitution, the President is the Commander in Chief of all the US Military branches including the National Guard and Coast Guard. Article II of the U.S. Constitution endows the President with this power. Article I of the Constitution gives the U.S. Congress the power to declare war; a purposeful separation of powers instituted by the Founding Fathers that underscored a fear of large standing armies and their potential to impede a free and republican society. The term “reserve component” collectively refers to two organizations—the Reserves and the National Guard. The Reserves are a Federal reserve force that augments the active component as personnel requirements dictate.
The National Guard has two missions—a Federal mission and a State mission. The Guard’s primary mission is to support the States in times of natural and human-made disasters. Guard units in each state can be mobilized by the Governor to provide support within the state or, under certain conditions, across state lines. This occurs when the Governor declares a state of emergency following civil unrest or natural disaster. The U.S. Constitution places control of the National Guard firmly in the hands of the Governors of each state, there are legal provisions that allow the President to mobilize National Guard units for Federal service. The National Guard can be mobilized in whole or in part to support the nation in times of emergency, in response to national disasters, or in times of war. The State Governors are subservient to the US President, and the Secretary of Defense, but answer as the Commander in Chief for the National Guard in their states.
Where the role of the military is concerned, J. Pournelle and S. M. Stirling wrote a series of books that when combined form the compendium “The Prince” (
The 
Would the honorable elected representatives please answer the following question: “Are the veterans of America’s armed services the next ‘
Musical chairs because the VA-OIG was unable to ascertain direct harm because of record screw-ups, gross mismanagement, and a detestable and despicable perception of the patient. The 
The actions of the nameless and faceless bureaucrat are unconstitutional, but allowed in the name of “government action.” Every time you hear the government is acting on your behalf, it means that the power of the people has been stolen, and will be doled back to the taxpayer in infinitesimal amounts, while the bureaucrat keeps getting fatter. Think Reich (1964) is wrong, here are some examples.
DNC-Consulting 