The only charity folks need to donate to on this topic is the Disabled American Veterans. I've been donating to them for over 30 years. They've been providing services to service connected disabled vets since after WWI.
(for both responses)
This isn't about wars and it's not about politics. This was supposed to be about the men and women who serve and come back to no help. A veteran commits suicide every two hours. You can respect the sacrifices these men and women have made without approving of how the government deployed them.
This is not a simple issue.
Young men can't know the truth of war. Education in history, films or tales from retired soldier fathers and uncles can never give any real idea of the atrocities. If they did, no one would sign up.
In my area, the main reason young guys join the armed services is that they have done poorly in school, have few work prospects and want to escape their families.
Some return from training with PTSD, unfit for overseas service. There is no compensation whatsoever for them. We have had court cases for homo and heterosexual rape during training, brutal hazing far beyond the prescriptions of manuals for training requirements, filming and broadcasting of the crimes, and systematic cover-ups.
In Australia, the funds given by our government to returned soldiers, or their families if they die, are sufficient for them to live on for the rest of their lives. Soldiers receive free treatment for PTSD and free medicine for physical injuries. Although psychologists now have proven techniques for healing trauma, some people do not recover and remain permanently unable to relate functionally with others. They find ways of adapting, usually by living alone.
I remember receiving the said care packages, during DS, in the middle of nowhere. I can't tell you what a difference a can of ravioli or a potart makes sometimes. I personally thank you and those like you. You do make a big difference. Thank you.
No I am not. They get benefits and the option to say no thank you.
Those benefits often include a lifetime of PTSD, homelessness, suicide, and broken families.
I have empathy for anyone who suffered outsized consequences of bad decisions, or were harmed by factors outside of their control. As such, I have just as much sympathy for the military personnel who suffered fighting in America's various campaigns of Imperial Hegemony (your welcome, Sharonna....;-D...) as I do for the residents of Flint, MI who were victimized into drinking poisonous water because of political machinations.
However, in the past 40 years, the US military has been all-volunteer. That means anyone under the age of 60 who "sacrificed" by entering military service did so voluntarily and with evidence of history to inform them what they were volunteering for. To me, treating their "sacrifice" with special respect is, in some sense, like giving lung cancer victims special respect for their "sacrifice" of smoking tobacco.
I do want to say Just Asking, that I do take the side of those who are afflicted with the poison that is war. My heart goes out to them and theirs.
I am not trying to bash veterans. I am trying to bash rushing in where angels fear to tread and wondering how that happened. How do you think? You enlisted. In my day (get off my lawn) we were very big on conscientious objectors. I would think those who came afterwards would consider following suit, especially in light of the fact that any war since World War II, was completely UNNECESSARY????
Totally.
Citizens Against
Imperial Hegemony
yes but i cant help since im out of work
This is something very dear to me. My brother enlisted when he was just 17. At 17, do you think he knew what he was getting into? Did he really understand what it would be like to kill? To watch his "brothers" die beside him? No.
Even everyday actions you and I think nothing of are a big deal to him. His brain has been reprogrammed. We drive on the freeways and we watch for idiot drivers and try to give them some space. He drives on the freeway and wonders if the car coming up behind him is planning an ambush, if the truck beside him is carrying bombs or soldiers, if the car that makes a sharp turn is about to start shooting. He walks into a room and automatically starts scanning for exits and for suspicious people. More than once, he's been stopped by the TSA or police because he's "suspicious," simply because he's reading the crowd and assessing the danger level. These are just two examples, but his service seeps into every action he takes throughout any given day.
I don't support a lot of our wars, but I always back our soldiers.
