Veterans’ Day thoughts…
My browser is set to refdesk.com as my home page and today’s quote of the day was by President Theodore Roosevelt:
“A man who is good enough to shed his blood for his country is good enough to be given a square deal afterwards. More than that no man is entitled to, and less than that no man shall have.”
I got to think back over my lifetime and I remember that veterans used to get some really good deals for their service to our country. They got to go to college or take other training classes at government expense so that they could compete for jobs when they completed their service. They could got to veteran’s hospitals and get medical care whether they had regular health insurance or not because they had risked their lives for us. Today, most of the men and women who have given of themselves to protect us do not receive much of anything for their service, other than a pat on the back and a thank you — if they’re lucky.
Of course, I’m getting this impression from news reports and other sources such as returning veterans. From listening to the talk from those who deal with vets and from listening to vets on health issue lists discuss their problems in getting the health care they need. I saw the reduction of educational benefits shrink as the cost of a college education went up, from when I worked for educational institutions in IT.
When did this country stop caring about the people who risk their lives to keep us safe? They deserve not only our respect for the jobs they do and the risks they take, but some compensation for the time they they give in service to their country. They need a square deal. As citizens we should be advocating that their benefits be restored to them.
Am I against the war in Iraq — yes. Do I want our soldiers to come home? Darn tootin’ I do. That doesn’t mean that I don’t care for our troops, I just feel if they’re going to risk their lives, it should be for values that this country actually stands for (or used to stand for) and not for pettiness and to protect the interests of corporations.
The “war on terror” is a failure. It’s increased the number of terrorists groups and it risks the lives of our service men and women for no gain in safety. In point of fact, America and Americans are less safe now than before The Shrub started this little war. I could go on a long rant about security theater but you’ve heard that one before. For now, I want to say that we’ve lost our focus and that’s hurting this country in many ways that are not immediately apparent. We’ve lost the high ground we once had when trying to get other countries to see reason and to negotiate to make this a better world to live in.
Along with losing our focus on what’s important, we’ve lost our willingness to play fair, and to honor our commitments. A glaring example is how we treat our veterans when they return home. They should get the square deal that Roosevelt talked about — the deal they used to get and no longer receive. A deal that didn’t have qualifiers such as “we know you’re ill but you can’t prove you got this illness from the chemicals used in battle so it’s not covered by your veteran’s benefits. Sorry.” No, vet should have to worry about health care. No vet who passes the entrance tests should have college denied to him/her because the government no longer covers the costs they used to.
America was made strong on the backs of its veterans and the education and continued service they provided as ordinary citizens when they returned home, went to school, got jobs, and continued to keep America strong with the sweat of their brow rather than the their life’s blood.
If you really want to support our troops, make sure that they’re risking their lives for those goals that American once stood for. And when they return home or finish their tour of duty, see to it that they have benefits to make the risk worth their potential price — we owe it to them since, because of their willingness to serve, we get to stay home and live our lives in peace.