I posted this on Facebook this morning, and it was summarily ignored by all my friends. Could be they are all just tired of my predictable curmudgeonly attitude toward any patriotic holiday.. Given the state of our country and the tone of the discourse that exists within it, I'm not inclined to look fondly upon anything construed as "patriotic." But I thought this short rant was valid enough, and have reposted it here so I don't lose it.
Veterans' Day. Hmm. I'm trying to remember when was the last time an American serviceman died for OUR freedom. No...these days our young people join the armed forces, in part to gain the rewards they are promised upon completion of their service, and are sent into conflicts masterminded by the corporate interests behind our government.
In those far-off countries, they are often hated and resented, shot at, blown up, terrorized, killed or maimed. It's estimated that 2.5 million service people have served in Iraq and Afghanistan since 2003. Over 6600 have come home in boxes. If they don't come home in a box, they return to a country that utterly forsakes them once their military service is over. Unemployment among veterans is 2 to 5 points higher than the national average. Almost 50,000 are homeless. The Veterans Administration is in such disarray that satisfactory treatment for the lingering effects of the "war on terror" is difficult to impossible to obtain. This is how much we "honor" our vets.
How about we quit posting pictures of flags waving behind flowery "thank you's" and actually DO something about the horrific plate full of disincentive, poor medical care, apathy and outright lies we serve up to our veterans every other day of the year.
Agreed. I read something somewhere earlier today about how none of the wars since WWII have been "for" us. They've all been for corporate and financial interests.
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