Flame — HabitableZone

Flame » in reply to re: Garrison Keillor

veterans
Robert — (archived)

Tom, have you ever once considered the harm you do to veterans when you and your RightWing colleagues try to convince them that a majority of Americans hates them, and that Wingers are their only friends? Do you think America is helped by a growing body of disaffected military and ex-military personnel?

It emerged a few years back, when a journalist tried to do a retrospective on it, that there were probably no incidents in which soldiers returning from Vietnam were spat upon as they passed through airports. Somewhere there's a Winger proud of having dreamed up that smear against the Left, never considering the damage he did to millions of servicemen in terms of alienation and other psychological distress. That was too high a price to pay to score a political point, and only contributes to the perception of RightWingers as vicious and amoral in pursuit of their agenda.

Many Liberals, myself included, don't bear any grudge at all against military personnel, and when we disagree with their mission, we understand full well that it's the fault of the government that sent them out, not theirs. That does make them "victims", of bad decisions in the White House, but you're the one calling them "pathetic", not me.

This isn't empty talk. Like most of my work the details are confidential, but I can tell you that these days I'm working with a private university gearing up a massive program to train psychologists and other mental health professionals on how to most effectively treat veterans returning from combat in Iraq and Afghanistan. My part is to create a facility for online presentations, with video and PowerPoint presentations, and during this practice phase I'm already learning a lot from attending presentations on PTSD and TBI. The plight of vets is dire, Tom, and while the Bush Administration mouths empty phrases of support for our "brave men and women" while simultaneously starving the VA of resources, this Liberal is doing something about it.

What have you done for our veterans lately, Tom...other than repeat the dispiriting lie that they're unappreciated and despised?

Log in or register to post.

The whole thread (112 posts)