On Veterans Day Lets Do More than a Parade to Thank Our Troops

November 11 2012: Today is Veterans Day..It’s a day where we take time out and honor all those who’ve served in the military and basically thank them for their service and sacrifice… I think its important we thank those who’ve served our country, but our thanks should go beyond a handshake, a pat on the back and a parade.

How about we say thank you to our men and women in uniform by making sure they have healthcare and proper benefits that are not caught up in Congressional red tape or attached to some draconian pork belly provision by an overzealous lawmaker trying to score points and using the military as a shield or political football?

In other words, there should be no homeless Veterans, but there are plenty, I see them all time and all over. There should be no joblessness amongst our Veterans but today we have close to a million who have no job. There are some in the Senate who who will attend Veteran Day parades, but won’t sign a bill that’ll put a billion dollars into a Veterans job program..You can read about that HERE

There should be no substance abuse amongst our Veterans. Sadly its pervasive amongst those on and off the battlefield. There should be no mental health challenges amongst our Veterans but thanks to our collective refusal to own up to this happening and put in place proper resources to help those who are ailing, we now have that as a challenge. Veterans committing suicide have now surpassed those we lost in combat . You can read about here in the NY Times.

How about we thank our troops by removing them from having to make sacrifices due to unnecessary war and conflict? We should have our troops here at home or around the world skilled in true humanitarian missions of providing food, shelter and clothing during natural disasters, not doing ‘humanitarian’ efforts as defined by unwarranted regime change where soldiers are forced to serve 4 and 5 tours of duty with the only real beneficiaries being big multinational corporations connected to the military industrial complex that pushed for it.

There are those who have served our country who have come to recognize that their sacrifice and skills sets were being dishonored and misused by those in power. There are veterans who have come to recognize that they were in foreign lands because of lies. As a result they have  stood up and spoke out. These men and women have recognized that they weren’t fighting for freedom, but instead fighting to secure resources and score political points that would be only helpful to the global 1%. Those troops who recognized this misleading effort and stepped up and called foul, really deserve our thanks.

We thank those men and women who served, who kept it 100, even if it meant being discharged, ostracized or jailed..These men and women made the sacrifice to keep their humanity in the forefront and speak out when they saw injustice or monstrous behavior being done in our name. We should thank those who have been willing to blow the whistle on us breaking international law for committing horrendous acts like torturing prisoners, committing acts of rape or discounting the humanity of those they fought. We honor those who put down the gun and sword and picked up the dove and threw up a peace sign because they recognized that war is not always the answer..

written by Davey D

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VP830OFrAso