I don't feel good about the next wave of troops being sent over to Afghanistan. I didn't feel good after 9/11 when that had seemed to "wrap up" so damned quickly and all of a sudden it turned into an Iraq war -before the primary "objective" of finding Bin Laden was accomplished. I am getting weary of war. What I'm getting the most weary of is seeing life go on as it will, but knowing there are people coming back from military service with PTSD, major medical problems/missing body parts, unidentifiable ailments, and in general just messed up from the experience.
On Veteran's Day, we "honor those who fight for our freedom". That's nice and all...but what I think is better is if instead of having a Veteran's Day parade or having the best high school trumpet player (or the nerdiest who has nothing else to do on that day, or who's mom makes him/her do it) play taps at a Memorial Day service, we start to acknowledge that these soldiers are not being taken care of when they come "home". They are sent off to fight or do whatever they are supposed to be doing over where ever they are sent to for whatever purpose, and when they come back, we call them heroes.
But do we make sure they have proper health care? Do we make sure that they are treated for their PTSD?? Do we make sure their children are ok and are handling the fact that even though mom or dad is back, they are different and things aren't the same anymore? I don't think so -not in general, and not for a majority of them. We call them heroes and leave it at that because apparently, heroes are superhuman and have no problems. Ever. That's very wrong -and in fact, if you really know anything about superheroes, you'll know that they are indeed very tortured individuals on the inside!!
Sure, this doesn't happen in every situation, but I've seen first hand more negative outcomes than positive outcomes from military service. I think, if we are a nation that prides itself on freedom and justice for all, on the humanistic treatment of others, then we need to start taking care of our own. We need to realize that we're hurting ourselves more by breaking apart families and destroying our own lives -our own hopes and dreams- than we would be by sticking our head in the sand. And let me repeat, this does not happen in every situation -there are plenty of men an women who are just fine and maybe even better...but if even one person who comes back damaged in some way is not cared for adequately, that's too many.
This makes me incredibly angry. Not too many things actually truly do, but this does. This, the mistreatment of children, bullying, and the neglect of people who have no voice -or I guess, in general, anyone who cannot speak out on their own, who doesn't have a voice for whatever reason- makes me mad.
I'm not sure what I will do about this. Probably just make my opinion known anytime I feel like it. I am not saying that the objectives for America's military actions are wrong because frankly, I don't know enough about it -and that's actually not what concerns me. But, I DO know that America's lack of care and respect for soem of those who carried through those actions is atrocious. That is what I care about. We need to take care of each other better. We need to recognize when we need to care. We need to stop being caught up in our own whirlwind of problems, look around, and see what someone else needs. Chances are, you'll be healed while you're helping another heal. That's the cool part of taking care of each other.
No comments:
Post a Comment