There’s been a lot of talk about veterans in recent years, and much of it has not been good.
In 2014, we learned that the VA hospitals were treating our vets more like enemies than heroes—falsifying records, neglecting their treatment, in some cases forcing them to wait so long that they died before they got care.
These men and women, who fought to secure our freedoms, died to protect our families, and struggled to uphold the idea of American Democracy, deserved better than that then. And they deserve better than what we give them now.
These are the heroes who came back from World Wars with the trauma of combat etched on their souls. They came back from Vietnam with the poison of Agent Orange ravaging their bodies. They came back from the mountains Afghanistan with PTSD affecting their minds. They came back from the fields of Iraq having left their limbs behind.
Our veterans should be honored for their sacrifice. Instead, they’re being used as political pawns. How else to explain the fact that veterans were somehow thrust into the conversation when NFL players like Colin Kaepernick knelt during the National Anthem to protest racism and police brutality? Veterans had nothing to do with it, yet conservatives used our men and women in uniform to deflect from the real message. As a result, we continue to ignore the problem of police brutality, and we still don’t properly honor veterans.
If veterans were a priority, the president would’ve made sure the VA was spending our money on veterans, and not on a European vacation for the VA Secretary and his wife. If veterans were a top priority, the president would not have tried to replace that guy with a physician who had never run an agency in his life. If veterans were a priority, we wouldn’t have men and women who’ve fought for this country living on the streets.
The military is not some political symbol to be used for personal gain. It’s not a prop to be paraded down Pennsylvania Avenue. It’s not a weapon to used against homeless immigrants.
At its core, our military is the very best we have to offer. It is a helping hand when things fall apart. It is warriors with the courage to answer the call of duty. It is children growing up and joining the fight for freedom. It is men and women who lay down their lives so others can achieve their dreams.
Today we should honor our veterans for everything they’ve done. Because the people who gave us everything should never want for anything.
