We hold these Truths to be self-evident...
The first support of our troops is to respect their families and lives by not putting them at risk unnecessarily. I am among hundreds of writers documenting the declassified evidence that proves the “leadership” of both parties lied to begin illegal Wars of Aggression. The best support of our troops is to understand this evidence, encourage our military to refuse further engagement in illegal wars, and bring our troops home to their families.
The second support of our troops is to recognize the trauma of combat and help their transition to civilian life. Today, 130,000 veterans are homeless; twice that number will experience homelessness for part of the year. One third of all homeless men are US veterans. According to a recent Harvard University study, over 2,200 US veterans died in 2008 because they did not have health insurance. As I’ve documented in the cost of these illegal Wars of Aggression in money and lives:
CBS News commissioned an extensive study to measure how many US military veterans are committing suicide. Their report: over 6,000 a year.[19] Among active duty soldiers, over 580 have committed suicide since the war began.[20] The Veterans Affairs Department received over 22,000 calls from desperate veterans in its first year of opening a suicide hotline.[21] Over 10,000 active American troops are diagnosed with the most severe classification of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder,[22] with one in eight returning troops reporting symptoms.[23] There are increasing reports that returning veterans are not receiving proper care for PTSD and other ailments, as the suicide numbers of CBS suggest.[24]
We know from all cost-benefit studies that housing the homeless is less expensive than leaving them on the streets, so it’s practical as well as moral to provide immediate shelter for all the homeless. The UN just reported that our government’s lack of response to human beings living on the streets, including over a million children, is “shameful.” Yes, we should be ashamed of this “leadership” for our veterans and children, especially.
What should we do? Among many, I advocate for Truth and Reconciliation to address the criminality in war, torture, finance, so we can most effectively end the criminality and build the brighter future we all work to realize.
The following 1 and 3-minute videos address homeless veterans.
As always, please share this article with all who claim to support our troops and be competent citizens. If you appreciate my work, please subscribe by clicking under the article title (it’s free). Please use my archive of work to help build a brighter future.
[19] CBS News. Nov. 13, 2007: Suicide Epidemic Among Veterans: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/11/13/cbsnews_investigates/main3496471.shtml
[20] BET.com. Suicides Clime Among US Soldiers. June 12, 2008: http://blogs.bet.com/news/newsyoushouldknow/suicides-climb-among-us-soldiers/ .
[21] Yahoo News. Euphrat, K. Suicide hot line got 22,000 calls from veterans. July 28, 2008: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080728/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/veteran_suicide .
[22] Wood, D. Suicides in Army Increase by 13%. June 27, 2008. http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=9466 .
[23] MSNBC. AP Report: June 30, 2004. 1 in 8 Returning Soldiers Suffers from PTSD: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5334479/ .
[24] Among many: KPFA 94.1. The War Comes Home. The Crisis in Veterans’ Health Care. Broadcast April 22, 2008: http://warcomeshome.org/crisis_in_health_care_broadcast , ZDNet. Blankenhorn, D. Is Congress Looking at the Right VA Scandal? April 24, 2008: http://healthcare.zdnet.com/?p=910 , and Hull, A & Priest D. It is Just not Walter Reed. March 5, 2007: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/04/AR2007030401394.html .
Comments
I just want to say thank you for addressing this. It is so easy to overlook the homeless without even realizing that they've done something for us and the way we repay them is leaving them in the streets to practically rot. Bring our troops home! Take our veterans off the streets!
I come from a military family and I say do NOT support the troops. They are on a mission to kill and suppress freedom everywhere they are deployed. They work for the Empire's interests and the same corporations that are stealing bailouts etc. They should get a normal job like the rest of us, and many of the world's problems would not have been 'provoked'.
Wake up and face down the propaganda. Insist your govt orchestrate REAL jobs and not death squad employment.
I think this speaks to a larger problem in American society: Minority groups are left to fend for themselves amidst gross opulence.
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