Americans on the Edge of Survival - Veterans

We should be ashamed. The treatment of our veterans is inexcusable. These are men and women who did their jobs, who went to war in good faith, convinced of the rightness of their action, and they come back to a Nation that loves to say how much we honor them, but does little to actually help them.

Let us for the moment forget how we feel about the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. Just for the record, I opposed them, however, once we were involved, I thought we should end it as quickly and efficiently as possible, then get out. None of us, including those who were sent to fight, thought we were going to be involved in a never ending engagement. We were also told that we were after ben Laden in Afghanistan and that his death would make a difference in the War on Terror. It did not. We were told that Iraq had the infamous 'weapons of mass destruction.' They did not. We were told that those who had lived under Sadam's dictatorship would welcome us with open arms. They did not. But, put that aside for now.

We know that something funny happened in the First Gulf War and that a lot of soldiers came back with Gulf War Syndrome., a peculiar disease. Smart money says that something 'experimental' was tried on them. Remember that during the MKUltra, the Military and Intelligence agencies dosed folks with a mind numbing array of chemicals, so they have an established record of using soldiers as guinea pigs. Again, leaving aside what we cannot prove, we know that many came home physically damaged. Things have only grown worse during the last 2 wars.

The situation with the Veterans Administration is not acceptable.  Waiting lists are far too long and by all accounts the hospitals are filthy. Things were not always this way. My Dad, a WW2 veteran, got fine treatment. Things began going awry during the Vietnam debacle and have gone downhill ever since.

There also seems to be little in the way of counselling available for those having difficulty coping with the return to civilian life. That, combined with the horrible economy, has led to the deplorable fact that many of the Nation's homeless are veterans.

Folks, it is all too easy to go on and on about how much we appreciate the efforts and sacrifice of our veterans. Politicians do that all the time,  but the time has come for the Nation to put some money where its mouth is and actually do something to help these men and women.