BLM, ALM, whatever you want the first letter to be…it seems to me that the only lives that certain groups care about are the ones that they align with or, afford them a greater share of attention.
These groups pop up and protest when it suits their politics. Why not take a look at what happened in Wichita and use that as a go forward plan.
When the BLM leaders came to the Wichita police to discuss an upcoming protest, the police and leaders decided instead to have a community barbecue with both groups in attendance. 1,000 people turned out to interact with each other and push towards better relationships. Seems a much better deal than yelling and screaming on television, no?
That said…whether it is police shooting, gang violence, or people shooting cops that get the attention, one area is being sadly overlooked.
Some of you may not be familiar with the number 22…as in 22 veterans take their own lives every day. 22 may not seem like a large number, but in a year that is more than 8,000. 8,000 people who put their lives in danger for you and your rights. So you could protest the police…so you could protest the conventions…so you could air your opinion about the government freely. Veteran lives should matter.
You may not agree with war…and you may not agree with the reasons we find ourselves fighting in other parts of the world…but you can’t argue that these people sacrifice greatly to serve this country. Yet they come home and have access to the minimum the government is willing to spend.
I would submit that we are doing a horrible disservice. We budget over 1 TRILLION dollars for welfare in this country…we budget $182 billion for veteran’s affairs. Seems backwards to me. What if we combined and split? $600 billion a piece. Let’s start taking care of those who come home from war only to believe that taking their own lives is the best solution.
We provide free cell phones to low income families…in 35 states, a person on welfare brings home more than a private in the army. Some 18 year old kid, dropped off in some hell pit where everything has the potential to explode in his face, sleeping in a tent, on call to pick up his gun and risk his life 24/7, can make less than someone who doesn’t work.
The point is, why can’t we put more money into taking care of those who return from war? Why can’t they get free cell phones and better medical care? Why can’t they get assistance and housing breaks? Why can’t they receive at least as much as those whose lives and freedoms they risked everything to protect?
Why do senators, congressmen, etc… receive lifelong payments and exemptions and all sorts of other benefits? Perhaps because they draft and vote on the laws? How about a bill that says all of our representatives are paid the median income of the people in their districts. When they leave office, they get nothing in compensation…job over, move on. I would vote for that (if I could find my ID…oh yeah, I don’t need one because it is racist to require people to show ID to perform the most important civil function a citizen does). We can then take all of that money and add it to the veteran’s budget. Too many people feel entitled to something for nothing. Healthcare, housing, college…yet the people who truly deserve something, are struggling to return to daily life without asking for anything and we make it so hard that they take their own lives.
Imagine…you spent day after day surrounded by war, just waiting for that day when you get to go home again. When that day finally comes, you get there only to find that you may have been better off back in the war. How hard must it be that someone can survive fighting a war, but can’t handle the day to day of life back here? Let’s make it easier, and let’s spend some of that money finding ways to keep them from feeling like suicide is the only answer.
Thank the veterans you know…and the ones you meet. Pay for their meals, or groceries, or find some creative way to help them out…show them that what they did means something to you. Show them that their lives matter.
Above the Nonsense 
I think we can’t do these things so far because we can’t find concensus on how to pay for it. The hyperpartisan deadlock in government must break for there to be progress, and perhaps that is coming soon. As for the BBQ instead of the protest, I think there are definitely tines when protests are more effective to motivate change though coming together at some point is crucial to achieve it.
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I’ve put on the uniform, although I was never under fire so I cannot speak personally to that stress. It is a volunteer service, though, and I think one of the problems is the notion that after that service we have to provides vets with care for the rest of their lives. Certainly for those who have been maimed or injured that is true. And for those who have earned it for retirement. But we are asking too much of the VA to provide all forms of medical service to everyone who has been in the military. The military has programs to help transition to civilian life and it takes this responsibility seriously. But there are those they will never reach, just as there are those no matter of compassion and assistance will get off welfare. I have veteran friends who have been through the hell of Iraq and Afghanistan and they are doing just fine. And I have known WW2 vets who were equally functional. For these men they know it is their responsibility to get past their issues and on with life. So while I agree our vets should be helped, we also need to inject some notion of self responsibility into these debates. For welfare or vets the only discussion we seem to have these days is who wants to spend more on them. We are creating a society of dependency. I would far prefer we talk about how we help you stand on your feet and then leave you with the dignity of walking on your own.
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Absolutely. I hate a society of dependency and I was trying to call out the need for services for those who were in battle. I know a few battle veterans, and agree that they are tough and taking on the challenge of civilian life head first…and not asking for anything. Finding ways to help keep them from killing themselves is the goal. The vets I know don’t want anything they didn’t work for, and I certainly don’t think spending for the sake of spending solves anything. I wanted to point out that there is a problem that is under reported and that if we have the funds to help anyone, it should be battle veterans. Maybe it isn’t a matter of spending, maybe it is just a matter of awareness.
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