Local American Legion Dues Siphoned Off at the Top

American Legion Post 311 in Piedmont, South Dakota, is typical of small-town chapters where the meeting hall is almost the sole building for community-wide activities, not to mention the obvious purpose of strengthening the fellowship bonds between veterans.  Promoting local patriotism remains a primary mission as well.

    Given the local impact, it’s surprising that so little of the annual $35 American Legion dues actually trickles down to the local post.  Only $1.50 makes its way back home.  Little wonder that the buildings always seem short of upkeep and modernization funds.  Most retired veterans in small towns across the country are hard-pressed to kick-in extra dollars.  

     So we must ask: Are the “services” of the national and state officers deserving of the lion’s share of dues now being siphoned away from the veterans in their hometown communities?  Are lobbyists in big cities anything more than wine-and-cheese socializers posing as lobbyists that make little or no difference in the political scheme of things?

     Without adequate local funding, will the local chapters of veterans organizations like the American Legion go the way of fraternal groups like the International Order of Odd Fellows and the Masons and other service clubs?  Have lightweight token projects obscured the energies and serious mission that once drove such organizations to become major players in American policy and national values?  Is mere fellowship (even in some churches) what remains after higher beliefs and purposes are obscured? Come to think of it, didn’t the Protestant Reformation have something to do with fundraising gone awry?