Honoring the "Shoulders"
November 08, 2009 - by Diann Cameron KellyHow will you spend this Veterans' Day?
Are you taking a Vet to
breakfast, or maybe lunch? Are you spending time with him or her
watching a parade go by, or watching people watch you and your favorite
Vet parade through those streets?
Whatever you plan to do, thank
you! Thank you for honoring, acknowledging, even reflecting on the
sacrifices veterans have made on our behalf and in our name as Americans.
My
father is over 80 years old and served nearly 20 years in our US Army
from the mid 1940s to the early 1960s. For the first 30 years of my life, I
watched him attempt to overcome the past and wrestle with what was and
seemingly unchangeable if not unbearable. Over 15 years later, you will find him resigned to
what is and more likely reliable and tangible. When I asked him several years ago how
did he resolve his war-battled past, if at all he did, he responded
"your mom... I don't know what I'd do without her; she loved me back
to life."
"Loved me back to life." Those words have remained
with me and continue to inspire me. I know there are countless men and
women who wrestle with the transition and reintegration issues that "returning
home" brings. We can never truly comprehend the existential vacuum that
many of our Vets endure across decades, especially in the early years of
their reintegration. When all we see is the anger, the moodiness, the
impulsivity, the inability to obtain or maintain a job, we are
drastically missing their isolation, alienation, pain, suffering and
unrequited remorse.
Veterans Day is more than
honoring the men and women who fought for an American ideal, cause, or
political-economic interest; it is also a day for their beneficiaries
(us) to take a moment and
1. Be an advocate - raise your voice
among the federal and local legislators and public servants to ensure,
year-round, our fellow Americans who sacrificed much have their basic needs
met (i.e. housing to ensure against homelessness, excellent health care
that does not stigmatize our Vets, etc.), as well as fluid access to jobs and education
to promote social and economic mobility as civilians. The extensive
research of Robert Rosenheck, MD of Yale University's School of Medicine-Psychiatry, Linda Bilmes of Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government, and Christopher Erbes and Melissa Polusny both of the US Department of Veterans Affairs - Minneapolis/University of Minnesota Medical School clearly demonstrate that
Vets and their practitioners cannot do the advocacy, outreach and social change for Vets alone. They need
all of us.
2. Volunteer and Give (time & resources) - to causes and organizations
who address the needs of Vets throughout the year. Too many Vets are cut
off from our society, and they need to
be re-engaged in the social and cultural activities of our nation.
Volunteers who directly lend that supportive hand and ear, and those who provide financial support to these causes, can make a
significant difference in the quality of life of a Vet. From
organizations like IAVA and Veterans of America to the tireless practitioners heading programs and services of the regional and local Veterans' Administration Centers across our nation, there are
too many opportunities for us to inspire, motivate, listen, and learn from
the men and women who gave their "shoulders" for peace and democracy to
stand upon.
3. Finally, vote in unison. While we may have
differing political views as a populace, too many of us have or know
someone who has loved ones who are Vets or about to be transitioned
from active duty to Vet status. Currently, many of our Vets returning
home from Iraq and Afghanistan are younger and find themselves with
significantly high unemployment rates and increased homelessness, not to mention health concerns (physical and mental) that may affect their mobility and relationships within civilian contexts. These young
men and women, and their older counterparts require educated and
attentive legislators and public servants. In this time of war, and even during peace time, we should measure our public servants by their
actual legislative support of our Vets and their families. For as long
as I can remember, we have marginalized our Veterans and their families.
We have kept legislators in office who continued to make our Veterans
invisible in our society for untold decades, with slight-of-hand benefits and health care standards that should have caused us the greatest of sorrows. The inattentiveness of
legislators toward our Vets, however, speaks to the lack of overt concern and
regard demonstrated by their constituencies. When
constituents show we care more for and value our Vets and their lifetime of service, federal and local
legislators will do more for our Vets across their life spans.
The greatest recruitment tool we
have to sustain our volunteer armed forces is an engaged and visible
Veteran. He or she is able to speak to life after civilian-status (i.e.
when military life begins), from active duty days in war or peace time
to the varied and hopeful opportunities awaiting a Veteran when they reintegrate and serve as Veterans through the rest of their days. Our
Veterans are not just former soldiers. These men and women are
faithful, liberty-believing broad "shoulders" whom we rest our
assurances, trust and critiques of democracy upon.
Veterans Day 2009... No
longer should Vets struggle with a question "what if....". As their families "love them back to life," let's show our Veterans this day and every day "what is..." an engaged citizenry committed year-round to the
support of men and women who offered their "shoulders" to ensure a
sustained democracy here and abroad.
