Inuyasha said:
They have not told you what "support the troops" really means nor how to do it. And they themselves continue to oppose the very slogan they have propagated. .
Excellent post. You captured a lot of what I feel. I was way too young for Vietnam but most of my teachers were Vietnam-era, and when I became an adult, I dated some Vietnam vets.
I felt nation's attitude change with the first Gulf War, where we went super-supportive, almost as a guilt trip, to somehow make up for not supporting military during Vietnam. I worked with a guy back then who had served in Vietnam. When he came home, he flew into the airport in LA, and he got so much sh** from people in the airport for being a soldier he had to change out of his uniform in the bathroom before getting on his next flight. It just breaks my heart.
Then, my mother told me of an incident in 1963 when my dad came home on leave from the Army. He was drafted (one of the last married groups to be drafted), and he and my mother were out to dinner one night, in a small town in Maryland, and some guy *spat* in my father's face for being in the military!
My dad didn't even want to be in the military, so they were spitting on the wrong guy. But it made a huge impression on me.
And I knew that would be the fallout of this war, too. People feel sad for the men and women who died in combat, and they should honor them. But I know Vietnam vets intimately and like you said, there is so much more damage going on in many of them. When Bush announced we were going to war in 2003, I wonder if that ever crossed his mind. It was *my* first thought. That part of the war never ends.....
Inuyasha said:
People look at the maimed with distain when they get on a bus in a wheelchair or constanly talk to themselves in public. Many just look away to avoid seeing these people..
I live in DC. Near Walter Reed. You know how many young men I'm seeing these days walking around in the malls and stuff missing a leg? Breaks my heart. We are so untouched by war here in the US, unlike WWII with rationing and black outs. I wonder how many people actually know that many of these amputees suddenly appearing in our neighborhood are vets.
Inuyasha said:
How many of you have been to a VA hospital ot clinic to say to those people "Thanks for your service." You can do this. .
Good point. What if I went up to one of these guys in the mall and thanked him? Would it bother him (which is why I've never done it)?
Thank you very much for your post. You've given me a lot to think about. I wish you the best.