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MEMORIAL DAY…
By Anthony | May 26, 2009
Greetings,
Memorial Day.
To some it signals the official start of summer, department store sales and various other leisurely activities that come with a three-day weekend.
The intended purpose is an appreciation to the fallen veterans who gave their lives in the armed services. However, I find myself in agreement with 60 Minutes commentator Andy Rooney who recently wished for the day to be more about ending war.
Obviously, there are many sides to the oft-debated issue of war, especially after the 9-11 attacks, but in my eyes the basic concept suggests that certain lives – largely based on the lack of career options - are expendable, and I am in total opposition to that.
Furthermore, the residual damage that war causes to families, communities and the larger nation becomes the enemy within.
Many were appalled with the images from Walter Reade Army Medical Center a few years back that displayed the less than memorializing conditions injured soldiers were forced to reside in while recuperating from life altering changes.
Moreover, as Vietnam and the two recent wars so clearly prove, what awaits those un-fallen soldiers who attempt to return to civilian life is equally disturbing.
Frankly, where do you start?
Unemployment and a myriad of other personal challenges - all directly and/or indirectly associated with post traumatic stress - and unfortunately the most irreparable harm occurs in the most important place for every single person in the world – that of the home and family.
Divorce rates are extremely high, as just five years ago 3,325 Army officers saw their marriages end in divorce, especially burdensome where young children are affected, and there were modest gains in other areas of the military.
Last year the Army had its highest suicide rate on record with 140 soldiers, but with 2009 less than half complete there’s a probability the infamous numbers from the previous year will be eclipsed.
As of this March forty-eight soldiers have killed themselves, and the number could reach well past 200. Sadly, at The Senate Armed Services Committee hearings where these findings were released there was no explanation as to why, instead just a fingers-in-ear statement that failed relationships were the cause.
Also, with the economy in depression mode it is also noteworthy to look at the money allocated to the Iraq and Afghanistan wars: to date $830.2 billion and counting, according to the National Priorities Project.
So, the 141 years of observances for those who bravely gave their lives in combat is commendable as I’m sure there were families and lives disrupted and torn apart as a result of a soldier’s death in the various wars we’ve witnessed or read about.
But, as Mr. Rooney so accurately points out we use the phrase “gave their lives” when actually their lives were taken from them, and it seems a bit passive to after the fact remember someone when so much more could be done to prevent all the levels of attrition and death caused by war.
And, no I do not wish to see an escalation of drone attacks.
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