Sadly, Again, Observing Veteran’s Day: 2007

 

Memorial Day is when we mourn all Veterans from the past and Veteran’s Day is when we are supposed to celebrate our surviving veterans.  That’s especially nice when we are in a time of peace.  Within the veteran’s community, it’s said that the best way to serve our dead is to help those still living – especially our Disabled Veterans – and that is so very important, especially in a time of war, as we expect to add another estimated million Disabled Veterans to our roles of wounded warriors – how very, very sad for all of us!

 

So it’s appropriate that we do more than just celebrate Veteran’s Day with commercial sales events, or just reflect on the sacrifices made (by many infamous and a famous few) for all the rest of us that enjoy the blessing of liberty.  Today, it is not nearly enough for a grateful nation to just remember – it is long past-time the American citizenry end their national shame and keep the promise they made to our Disabled Veterans by going the full distance and passing legislation to fully fund the Veteran’s Administration!

 

One may think, there you go… “It’s all about the money!”  Sure, but, in this case it’s not just about the money – it’s about WHO provided YOU with the very freedom and liberty to even earn any money – and YOU, the American public, paying a long overdue debt!

 

Sure, for some it will mean getting $ 20 less back on their annual tax return, and for some a little more, or less – but isn’t that better than continuing to hang your head in shame and whine about how sad the situation is year after year and decade after decade?  You know I your heart of heart’s that I’m right – and, after all, it’s simply the right thing to do!

 

Especially now, at a time when we’re asking more from a new generation of Veterans than has ever been asked before in American history – and providing less benefits while our military is serving at much greater risks!  Shame on all of us!

 

Any words of appreciation and praise fall far short of the edification due our military and veterans, especially our Disabled Veterans, who have served so valiantly and selflessly in the past decade – especially since the terrorists attack after 9/11.  Our Veterans have gone from being nearly totally forgotten to being regularly thanked – but, saying “Thank You” is a nicety of etiquette that falls far short of paying full tribute and our over-due debt!

 

Never before in American history have we participated in a Just War and an Unjust War at the same time – and, sadly, way too many Americans do not have a clue about the very important differences between the two!  Never before have we had such a technologically advanced military, yet we allowed them to be sent into harms way without even adequate protective equipment!  Never before have we asked our military to stay deployed for so long in combat while failing to ensure that their families received the necessary support to keep their mortgage or rent paid, utilities on, groceries stocked and kid’s in school!

Again, all I can honestly say is shame on all of us – especially America’s civilian public!

 

Currently, the number of PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) victims is soaring as we send distressed soldiers back into harms way, over and over, until many soldiers fall in the field as severe psychological casualties and their minds are so disturbed they will require many years of therapeutic care – which we the American people will have to pay for the rest of their natural lives, tormented by nightmares, as most suffer little for peace. 

 

The new signature wound of war today is TBI (Traumatic Brain Injury) as a result of the enemies use of extremely powerful IED’s (Improvised Explosive Devices) which cause massive concussions through-out the body significantly damaging the brain – add to that the highest number of amputations we’ve ever suffered (without considering the possible exception of our American Civil War which we’ll probably surpass before this war ends). 

 

Add to that the maiming from massive burn injuries and the wide variety of expected wounds from every sort of shrapnel and gunshot wounds as well as the everyday wear and tear of serious soldiering that quickly degrades the human body – and the statistics become overwhelmingly staggering!

 

But, the price is even higher when you factor in the costs to their families!  The rate of suicide amongst our combat vets is higher than ever!  The rate of divorces is soaring – and though both parents suffer, the suffering of the parent’s pales in comparison to the suffering their children go through!  We have sacrificed, yet again, another generation of our young, and their spouses and their children, and too many have yet to even accept the duty that falls on all of us to bear our fair share of the burden as responsible citizens!

 

As the saying goes, “Da Nile is not just a river in Egypt” – Denial, especially in silence, is simply the worse form of betrayal – we must end this selfish silence once and for all!   

 

As history repeats itself, just as soon as the wars are over and our troops return – most Americans will, again, quickly forget the selfless sacrifice of our soldiers and our duty as citizens to ensure Veterans promised healthcare.  Shame, shame, shame on all of us!

 

The truth of the matter is the Republican leadership (especially over the past two terms of the current administration) has obviously become rotten and corrupt to the core – they do not even represent most moderate members of their party!  It’s estimated that the VA has been shorted some 75 Billion dollars under the Bush administration – and the outgoing VA Secretary (appointed by Bush) leaves with the shameful moniker “Nickel and Dime” Nicholson bestowed upon him by Disabled Vets that have suffered under his selfishness.

It’s shockingly apparent that too many Republicans care far more about money than duty!

 

The Democrats have gained back some power but remain disappointedly dysfunctional.  With so much partisanship and divisiveness in the House and the narrow majority margin in the Senate (and a stubbornly stupid President that refuses to do little more than use his veto power) the best intentions of the Congress continue to fall short – we still have one very long year before the next election and a chance at a shift in Executive power.

Thankfully, some progress has been made through the good efforts of the Democratic led House and Senate Veteran’s Affairs Committees by conducting full reviews of veterans issues and well informed members fighting and attempting to re-instate funding – but, we have a long, long way to go to meet the needs of our Disabled Veterans anytime soon.

 

Fully funding the VA should be a non-partisan issue!  Frankly, it’s a no-brainer, but for too long both parties have fallen into the shameful bad habit of using our Disabled Vets as political props in driving wedge issues between all of us – that’s an egregious shame of the lowest order!  My anger puts me on the brink of profanity when I witness this #*@%!

 

I’ve said it repeatedly and recently, and I’ll say it again, I’ve never, ever in my life been so proud to be an American and an American Veteran – but, at the same time I’ve never, ever been so ashamed of America as a Disabled Veteran!  While I will forever love the U. S. Army and the American military culture made up of all our services – my heart breaks!

 

It is past time we ended our involvement in the debacle of the Unjust War in Iraq.  But, we must do so responsibly to minimize any further damage to our troops and innocent Iraqi civilians – that’s no easy task, but, clearly our duty for creating this immoral mess!

 

We, that is to say ALL OF US, should be demanding that the Iraqi Parliament be put on notice – a very short notice – to stand up and take their fair share of responsibility for their own destiny!  American forces should be replaced with all necessary types of United Nations Peacekeepers (preferably made up of moderate Muslims) to protect their peace – so our weary soldiers can come home.  Of course, once peace is established and the new Iraqi society stabilized we still have a great deal of due debt to pay in re-building their infrastructure that we destroyed and trying to re-build our alliances internationally.

 

Having said that, we should immediately shift our military focus back to fighting the true 9/11 terrorists in Afghanistan, like Osama Bin Laden and his criminal crew (wherever they may be hiding) and finish that Just War mission fully, once and for all – quickly !

 

As for our Disabled Veterans and Military Families – it will take a majority of the regular American civilian public to come to the conclusion that it is their duty (yes, I’m talking about YOU dear reader) to e-mail, write, fax and call their Congressional representatives, REPEATEDLY, to get the VA fully funded and end this national shame, their national shame, our national shame (read that YOUR national shame) and pay full tribute to our Disabled Veterans – then, and only then, will the promise President Lincoln made so very long ago, finally, be kept!  No, I’m NOT holding my breath!

 

But, I fear, asking citizen’s that have forsaken us for decades, to actually communicate with their elected representatives is simply asking too much from the lazy, irresponsible, co-dependent, overwhelmed and disempowered American public at-large.  After all, so many dysfunctional Americans today just expect someone else to do everything for us – including our civic duties!  Well, things just don’t work that way in a democracy – so, grow the hell up, get off your butts, stand up, pick up the telephone, or a pen or start typing away PLEASE!  Shall I beg?  O.K., I am willing to publicly beg – PLEASE!

For over three decades hardly anyone ever thanked the Vietnam Vets for our service, in the past few years I’ve heard so much lip service it sometimes makes me gasp and gag and nearly vomit – the insincere and disingenuous tones are often sickening!  Though it is obvious there is some measurable degree of relief from guilt for many, finally, saying the polite thing with a “Thank you for your service” line – that’s does NOT pay the due debt!

 

Let’s end the shame shall we?  I can assure you all that though we shall never forget – the Disabled Veterans in America will greatly appreciate it and you may be re-paid for doing your duty.  In doing so, we will be able to fully assess the cost of war and, knowing those facts, YOU may not have to worry about YOUR children and YOUR grand-children ever being drafted into conscripted military service to support some unethical, immoral, illegal and insane military adventure forced on the common American public by elitists cowards that have never even worn an American military uniform let alone actually seen combat – wouldn’t that be rather reassuring and provide a better future and historical legacy?

 

Oh, and by the way, then, we’ll have more money, literally trillions, to do a lot of really good things like work on Healthcare for all children, all of our elderly and unfortunate civilians, and maybe even save our shoddy schools and educational system and properly teach the next generation of kids about important subjects like, hmmm,… let’s see…oh yeah, the U. S. Constitution and American History – now there’s an excellent idea!

 

Wouldn’t it be great if, at least, most Americans could pass the U.S. Citizenship Test and knew the difference between Just and Unjust Wars and how very important the rule of law is in a civilized Democratic society, made up of free Republic States, where all people are actually, really, equal?  Just think we wouldn’t have to waste our most valuable asset, our time, over on-going sorts of stupid pseudo debates about whether: Habeas Corpus is an important part of our law; or, if the American people’s privacy should be protected from illegal wire-tapping by their own government; or whether, or not, the Vice-President of the United States is actually in the Executive Branch or the Senate; or, if environmental pollution is a problem; or, if grossly violating the Geneva Convention on torture is a bad thing?  I’m stunned at how dumb downed we’ve become!

 

Hey, we might even get around to cleaning out the corruption in our political process by publicly financing campaigns and running the corporate lobbyists and money changers out of Washington D.C. and actually having fair elections, without voter fraud, where ever vote really counts and actually get counted (including our absentee ballots like from our military) with some reasonably accepted degree of competence and integrity?

 

But first, I think we all need to come up with the courage to look at the guy, or gal, in the mirror, that is to say OURSELVES – and take a long hard, candid look at who we really see – then, muster the courage to make the time and take the time to sit down with all of OUR children and grand-children and take a very long, very hard look into THEIR eyes! 

 

Are we going to just dump the mess we’ve made of the world on them and not even say a word to give them a fair chance?  I say we tell them the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the full truth!

Then, let’s do something really courageous and all look next door and across the street at OUR neighbors and throughout our neighborhoods and start doing our civic duties again. 

 

Our silence is betrayal – betrayal of the worse sort!  Let’s stop repeating the excuses and lies.  Let’s end the bigotry and racism and stupidity and selfishness that feeds our fear and let’s end the shame of our citizenry forever!

 

We do not have to become frozen with fear by our foreign enemies of the day – but we had better fear the domestic enemies that could make America fall from within – we had better fear ourselves – and fight that fear with courageous, corrective, citizen activism!  In the end it will come down to our ability to utilize our First Amendment rights, failing that the default position is taken up with our Second Amendment rights – and I don’t even want to contemplate the unconscionable ever becoming a reality!

 

So, PLEASE register and do a little research so you can cast your ballot and vote with a degree of confidence in your candidate choice – PLEASE!  Participate, just a little, and that begins by ENDING THE SILENCE!  Talk to your family and friends and listen!  If they resist, don’t persist, we don’t need more idiots voting for more of the worse!  Make a little time, and take a little time, to do your duty and communicate with your elected officials – they are SERVANTS and don’t be afraid to let them know what you’re angry about AND what you want done and expect them to do!  HINT: Expect NOTHING, but HOPE FOR EVERYTHING – there’s always hope IF WE TAKE ACTION!

 

Maybe, just maybe, if we actually finish the business of providing Healthcare to our 3-4 Million Disabled American Veterans, then, maybe, just maybe we’ll learn how we can do the same for uninsured children and 40 Million Americans?  Can we, at least, try – not to just go through the motions, only to repeat the “Well, we tried” excuse – I mean take a serious position trying until we actually succeed – you know, like our troops do on every task, with every mission, every day, 24/7/365 – It’s simply the right thing for all to do!

 

Just think, then you can call yourself an American – and it will have more meaning than where your Mother just happened to give birth to your sorry, selfish, self-centered butt!

Yeah, I’m angry at a good portion of America – if you’re NOT one of the guilty, well, no offense was intended – if you are one of the guilty, then, the insults are intended and very heartfelt!  SHAME ON YOU – OCCUPANTS!

 

For the war statistics visit http://icasualties.org/oif