Some Musings on Veteran's Day.....

Some Thoughts on Veteran's Day
Current mood: aggravated
Category: Life
One of my dear friends has listed in her status update the goodly thought that we should all go out and hug a veteran today. Well.....sure. I mean, hugs are nice. Hugs make us all feel good. Why not?

But, while we're at it, let's keep some basic stuff in mind.....we Americans are great at talking the talk but we're terrible about walking the walk. We use holidays like Veteran's Day and Memorial Day as outs for terrible behavior the rest of the year. When we feel bad we point to these days and say, "Really! Really! Vets are important!" The truth of the matter is, no. No they're not. We Americans really don't give a shit.

If we did, we might not have over 100,000 veterans homeless in America. For those keeping score at home, that's roughly 3x the number of troops President Obama is planning to send to Afghanistan. If all 100,000 or so homeless vets lived in Albuquerque, they'd amount to 1 in 5, or, 20% of our population.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21678030/

http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/07/02/homeless.veterans/index.html

Now, I'm sorry, but today's a day of parades and platitudes and all that is well and fine but the above numbers and stories just reveal that for what it is. Total and complete bullshit. If we cared about the men and women who protect our country we'd do something better by them. Veteran's Day? How about renaming today 1/4 of the Homeless in America Day? Because, according to the stats, it's one in the same.

One of the sad things about the way we treat veterans is the way we pay lip service to their needs when they come home from war.

For starters, maybe we can stop jailing traumatized vets and actually helping them? After all, they have killed, maimed both enemies and innocents while watching their own comrades be killed and maimed, all for us and the freedoms we so blithely take for granted. You have rush hour traffic to contend with, they.....they have suicide bombers who send body parts and human viscera spraying in a multitude of directions.

http://www.veteranstoday.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=9350

But of course, taking care of our veterans means taking care of ALL of our veterans, men AND women alike. Yeah. Women. They're the phantom veterans we don't see and don't really think about. The result of their not being on our collective social radar....?

http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2007/03/07/women_in_military/

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/05/06/AR2005050601355.html

and

http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/07/14/veterans.hospitals/


Our lady soldiers get raped.....by their own colleagues. Yeah. Some of our veterans on this Veteran's Day are rapists....and some.....are rape survivors. And for the women who come home, facing all sorts of post-traumatic stress issues, apparently, we fall short of caring for them.

And don't forget that not that long ago, one of our biggest, most prestigious veteran's hospitals did a bang-up job at.....neglecting these self same veterans we cherish today.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/17/AR2007021701172.html

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=7584958

And for those who are trying to help those affected by the way.....just listening is almost as much hell as war is itself.....

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/08/us/08stress.html

In fact, the mental trauma of troops and counselors is so bad and so intense, we may be seeing more episodes like the recent one at Ft. Hood, in our future:

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hVZbIGcvN1SNL7RcoIXoOofbXDfQ

Meanwhile, besides the psychological trauma, more of our veterans are returning to us as wounded, especially from Afghanistan.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jAPwZtMDyVLOSpu55GZhhsN0eiewD9BT70I00



So.....please, hug yourself a vet today. But, while you're at it, write a senator or a congressman and actually involve yourself in doing something. Don't just go to the paraded and sing some patriotic songs and feel all mushy inside about how great you and our veterans are. Actually do a damn thing for somebody.....like, say, the 100,000+ vets who are homeless. That would make this a Veteran's Day that actually has some meaning....