Memorial Day, on which Moxie gets political

Today is Memorial Day in the United States, so many of us were off work today for a 3-day weekend. It's a day for spending with your family, barbecuing and playing games on the grass.

The real meaning of the day, though, is to honor Americans who fought and died in wars and police actions.

On Friday I went to see the exhibit Eyes Wide Open: An Exhibition on the Human Cost of the Iraq War by the American Friends Service Committee. It's a visual display of the people that have been lost to the war. The exhibit I saw was focused on New York State, and included one pair of empty combat boots for each New York State citizen who has died in the Iraq war so far. 178 pairs of empty boots doesn't sound like a lot, but it's chilling to see them all in a row, as if the soldiers are in formation, but those people have just vanished.


Since the Iraq War began, 4079 American military personnel have been killed there. That's more than died in the World trade Center and Pentagon attacks on September 11, 2001. More than 30,000 American military have been wounded in Iraq. The reports about how many Iraqi civilians have been killed vary widely, from 80,000 to 650,000.

Memorial Day is a day to remember. It shouldn't be a day for kids to wonder if their dads (or moms) are coming home. For women to wonder if they'll be evicted next month because the National Guard stipend doesn't pay the rent while their husbands are off facing death in the desert. For Iraq War veterans to be refused treatment for PTSD because the VA says it's all in their heads.

Support our troops. Demand pay and benefits equal to the sacrifice they're making. And bring them home NOW.

Comments

[heather]

As the daughter of a veteran who suffered PTSD as a result of the Vietnam War, I am appalled at the shocking mistreatment of our VA system. It wasn't until my dad was a raging alcoholic twenty years later that he received the treatment he should've gotten years before.

[Hilary]

What a fantastic post. You show true patriotism.

[electriclady]

Amen.

[Charisse]

What you said. Can you believe Bush is going to veto the new GI Bill? Override that, and elect some new leadership is what I say.

[Amy]

As a European history professor, I teach all the major western wars... lots of death and destruction... at the Battle of the Somme (WWI)over 70,000 were dead or wounded on the FIRST DAY (50,000 of those British)! Try putting that in perspective for a bunch of 18 yr olds who've grown up with the Iraq War on the news. But somehow, those wars seem just (I mean, you can't argue "unjust" when talking Hitler and WWII). Maybe it's the passage of time and the (re)writing of history (because history is written by the winners) that makes them easier to swallow. But I can't ever imagine a time when I will look back on Iraq and be proud of our government... yes, I am immensely proud of the soldiers and their families... they sacrifice something each and every day I can't fathom. But I will never be proud of the politicians who put them there and don't take care of them when they get home.

[Sarah]

Thank you, Moxie, and everyone for the support of our troops. My husband serves in the USAF and, as a result, my whole family is involved in this war much more than we ever thought we'd be involved in any war.

The effects of war are so far-reaching it's astounding, but support can be just as far reaching and as much, or even more, affective.

[Amanda]

I'm tired of that phrase "support our troops." I support them insofar as I don't want them there and don't want them to be killed.

But I support NOTHING associated with this illegal, murderous, unjust war. Our country should be hanging its head in shame on this day. The rest of the world has already shamed us. Why don't we listen?

[Sarah]

Amanda, many people assume that "support our troops" is synonymous with "support our war". It's not at all. My husband describes it as being stuck fighting a war because the boss says so.
I'm sure there are many men and women who serve and support this war but it's not always the case.

Think of it as supporting a friend at a job you know she hates, because she does a good job and loves it in spite of her boss being a wacko, over-controlling maniac. (Of sorts)

[hedra]

I love the American Friends Service Committee (caveat, DH is a Quaker, so there's a sense of ownership in the process, even if just by supporting the Meeting). They work the understanding - the 'getting it' side - as well as the real hands-on assistance, very well.

And ditto on the 'support our troops' meaning 'the TROOPS, not the ORDERS'. Having family who served and are serving (niece left for Army boot camp not long ago), I definitely support the troops. I understand their goals and intentions. I do not support the direction of the leadership, at all. Around us, there are a lot of 'support our troops, bring them home!' bumper stickers. And I agree with Moxie that support has to be more than just bringing them home. It has to be providing for their return home (including appropriate and plentiful VA services), and maintaining their families while they are not home.

One of my sisters is active in the support of troops - she doesn't discuss what they're doing, what war or action they're involved in, or how she feels about that. It's not relevant, to her, in supporting the actual human beings involved. Political action is a separate thing from supporting the people. She supports the people. Feeds her effort into charitable organizations that provide what the US government fails to provide, over and over and over. We follow on her coat tails - channel our efforts into hers, make it a collective effort. It might only plug a few small holes in the system, but anything is better than what they get now.

[Gale]

I love this blog and have been a reader ever since my son was born. This is one of the warmest and sanest sites on the web and I appreciate that. I wanted to respond to your comment about the VA. I was sad to see your comment that the VA is telling people that PTSD is in their heads. I have worked as a therapist in the PTSD clinic of our local VA for 2 years and my perspective is very different. I sit with Vets and hear about their worst moments every day. I feel honored that I am allowed to help them deal with the unavoidable scars of participating in a war. Our soldiers are paying a terrible cost for having to engage in combat and many of them will need years of services (mental health, medical care, family support).

I am 35 and therefore too young to be able to speak to what the VA did during the Vietnam war with any first hand knowledge. But every clinician and staff member I have spoken with states, unequivocally, that Vietnam war veterans were treated terribly after the war and the veteran's insistence that we pay attention to their needs led to a massive revamping of the VA. What we know about PTSD, we learned on the backs of Vietnam veterans. Thankfully, we did learn and the current treatments for PTSD are more involved. In my clinic, we offer individual and group therapy with medication management if desired/needed to every veteran who screens positive for PTSD. We have therapy groups for family members and parenting groups for couples with children as well. All of these services are 100% free to veterans for the first two years they are back from deployment. Most of the clinicians with whom I work come in early and stay late so that they can fit in all the clients who need services. I am sure that in as large a system as the VA there are poor clinicians. But, I am impressed with the dedication of the VA clinicians I know.

I say all of this because I want veterans to know that their experience will be dramatically different than the Vietnam era veterans. I want them to reach out to the VA and seek services. I also want them to know that, if they get poor care at their local VA, they have options. I would encourage them to request a different therapist/doctor/speech therapist/occupational therapist, etc. If it would help, they should bring a family member to their next appointment and draw on that moral support when they ask for a new provider. They can contact their local vet centers (http://www1.va.gov/directory/guide/vetcenter_flsh.asp) and access free therapy benefits there if they do not want to go to the VA.

I hope that someone reading this note will be able to add on other services they know of in the community.

[Dawn]

Bravo.