A Bad Situation All Around

With all of the weirdness of the past few weeks, what with the richmans welfare and the election farce that has been pumped in our faces, there is another thing that is pretty fucked up in our nation

A thing that is very personal to me as well as happening all around our country. A thing that is happening all too much. Something that should irk everyone but seems to have taken a back seat to politics, news and day to day life in the US. At least it seems so to me. I am talking about supporting our troops…after they come home.

When I was a kid supporting the troops in Viet Nam was a different issue. The peace advocates and the anti war protesters hated the idea of anyone being a soldier. Many would line up at the airport and spit on them. I remember when my brother returned from Asia and the protesters spit not only at the car that was carrying his body but spit and yelled at the car my family was in. My mother was more devastated than just the normal grief of losing a son. Having her boy called names after he was dead seemed even more of a hurt than leaving his life in a foriegn country.

The government also spit on the returning vets then. Not literally but definitely spit…or shit. Benefits for disabled soldiers were, and still are, deplorable. Just a couple of years ago they said that 4 out of 10 of America’s homeless were disabled Viet Nam vets. Must really suck to be dishonored by not only your fellow citizens but also the powers that sent you to fight, kill and die.

Things have changed since the late ’60’s and early ’70’s. Every SUV and compact car has a ribbon demanding we support our troops. The words are on the lips of every politician. Hell…some even say you aren’t a true American if you don’t send your kid to Iraq.(not the politicians kids of course) But that is all empty talk. Those with the stickers on their cars may mean it but have you noticed how many cars with support the troops stickers also have something supporting McCain and Palin? Seems like a contradiction to me.

Shortly after moving to Roswell 3 years ago I met a good young man who had just returned from a tour of Iraq. Kind hearted in most things he had a great hatred in his soul. Part of the hatred was directed to the “ragheads” (his words). Part of his anger was, and still is, directed toward the government that sent him there. He is even angrier now although he no longer rants the stuff against the people he was sent to war against. He hates the war machine that has caused so much distress in his life. He has had his eyes opened to how the government supports the troops they send to war. A war based on deceit and lies.

After a short stay here at home he was redeployed. Against his wishes but as a patriot he didn’t balk. They shipped him to Germany on the way back to Iraq. While there a shrink determined he was not stable enough to return to the battlefield. They said his previous tour had un balanced him and in a war type situation he would probably be more of a risk than asset. Something about not being reliable under stress. Without actually saying so they gave the symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).  Determining he was too unbalanced for military life they gave him a bunch of forms to apply for disability.They also said his imbalance came from the atrocities of the war that he had seen on his first tour.

He has been back stateside for almost 2 years now. The forms have been submitted and he is waiting to hear back from the Veterans Administration. Of course with the average wait for consideration starting at 25 months he is wondering if he will ever hear from them.

He was homeless for a while. Couch surfing he stayed with friends and family for the first year. He slept here at my house for a couple of weeks. His momma came by one day and realized how much stress his stay was putting on our friendship. He truly had gone nuts. More than I had imagined. She and the family rented him a small apartment where he now lives.

Smoking weed didn’t seem to calm him but he was smoking a lot anyway. He woke me numerous times with screams in his dreams. A friend who is a student of shrinkology (You know…Psychiatric Studies) came over often. Tried to get him to open up about his dreams and memories. That seemed to make it worse. Although she meant well she has no experience or enough education (yet) in PTSD treatment. The shrinks that do cost money he doesn’t have. The disability hearing hasn’t been set yet so the V.A. isn’t paying for anything either.

He has be unemployable as he has none of the people skills a potential employee should have. The odd jobs he gets don’t last long as he becomes unbalanced when the boss tells him what to do. He doesn’t do well with authority figures. Spent more than a couple of weekends in jail lately for things that would have been ignored had he not been acting crazy.

He is one of the thousands…hell…tens of thousands that have returned from the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan that are being ignored. Ignored by the V.A.. Ignored by he folks that have the little ribbons on their gas guzzlers. Ignored by the passersby while they stand or sit in their wheelchairs holding the signs. Having been reduced to begging because the ones who should be responsible for them have pushed them aside. They are being ignored in a big way by the 2 main candidates for president this year.(Makes me wonder if either of the veep candidates sons who are serving become disabled {Gawd forbid} will they be ignored too?)

So in this time of political rhetoric spewing forth from debates and speeches the issues that  matter are being pushed aside. More money for the fatcats they cry. Bail Outs are necessary. Funding the war and not the warriors is a big issue. But every time I see an ad that puts down a politician for voting to cut funds for the war I think, “What have YOU done to fund those who have fought YOUR war and returned disabled?”.

Thats what I thought.