Veterans Abandoned

[1]http://www.mytown.ca/nutshell/
Veterans Abandoned
By Norla Antionoro, Ph.D.
14 November 2006

This is not my usual topic. But this time I have to speak out.
As a country we are doing a shameful job of providing for our
veterans, in every way. I do not approve of the decisions that have
deployed them to Iraq and Afghanistan but for the most part they
are there out of a sense of duty to their country, to their sense
of right, and because life gave them fewer options than many, so
the military looked good.
We have never treated our soldiers well. For over a hundred years
we have honored them by fancy words on special days, but rarely are
they given the real support that they deserve when they have given
all or nearly all that they have to their country.
It has been my experience for a period of twenty five years to work
with the V.A. health system providing consulting mental health
services. As a consultant, I worked at hospitals and clinics both
government supported and civilian. I have never seen worse care
provided in any venue than that which is given to our veterans at
the V.A. The active duty military gets medical care that is
adequate. Is it too much to expect that they should get at least
that quality of care when they become veterans?
When I acted as a consultant to the V.A., the Bush Administration
had not yet cut services and budgets, so the care was better then
than it is now. It was unacceptably low before Bush got his hands
on the system. It is beyond shameful now. They get care to a
minimum extent while they are active, and released into civilian
life with little or no support. If they need services, they must
know that they need them know where to apply for them, and then
they have to go asking. No effort is being made to provide the
mental health services they need unless they are requested. No
continuity of care exists between what a soldier received while
active and what they will receive when released. If they were well
enough to wade through all of the red tape to get the care they
need, they would not be likely to need the help.
It's bad enough that the first three grades of our military
personnel qualify for food stamps and other social services
supports. That they should live at the poverty level while serving,
put their lives in danger, sustain mental and physical injuries,
and then be released to the poorest health care system in our
country is inexcusable.
What kind of immorality does it take to use these troops to gain
profits and power, to force our will upon other countries, to gain
the upper hand for your corporations around the world, and then to
cast them aside like used tissue? It is easy to see why the company
that G. W. Bush ran was a failure. You cannot treat the people who
do the work for you like garbage and expect the work to be well
done.
It's time for our military to come home. It has been time for
several years. They never should have gone over there. The answers
to terrorism are not to be found in the iron fist, but in a more
humane and just world. The absurdity of shooting people who are
willing to die is beyond imagining.
That we bring our troops home, after using them beyond all reason,
and then simply let the go without adequate physical and mental
health support is completely unacceptable. The cuts that Bush made
to the veterans services must be restored.
So much needs to be restored. In the restoration lies the promise
for the presidency in 2008, for as we rebuild and make gains where
the last two decades have shown us only loss and suffering, the
country will see that a return to a Republican administration is
not what we want or need.
Restore the Veterans Administration to the level of care it was
able to provide under Carter. Restore the forests protections to
what they were under Clinton. Restore the Kyoto Accords. Return
this country as rapidly as possible to some semblance of sanity and
responsibility. Then we can move forward.
We cannot and should not run the world. No one is powerful enough
or has resources enough to do that and do it well. It is the job of
us all, every citizen of this planet acting together. No one
country should attempt it, superpower or not.
If our country is "the only remaining superpower" then let us use
that power for good; to benefit humanity and the planet rather than
to destroy them.
We can start by giving our troops the support and supplies they
need while we prepare to return them to the country where they
belong: the USA.
______________________________________________________________

Norla Antinoro is a life long Democrat. Born in California she
spent the last 40 years in and around Tucson, Arizona and currently
resides in Buffalo, NY.
[2]In a Nutshell, Series 1

References

1. http://www.mytown.ca/nutshell/
2. http://www.mytown.ca/ev.php?URL_ID=102946&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201