The Invisible Army

We treat our active-duty military like tools and our veterans like bums. But there are more contractors in Iraq and Afghanistan than there are military--and we treat some of them like slaves. Please read Sarah Stillman's article "The Invisible Army," from The New Yorker. Then tell me how in good conscience any of us can support fighting foreign wars, when this is the result.

Penny-wise and Patriotism--foolish

As I have previously pointed out, when the U.S. government sends troops to war, it condemns them to all kinds of health problems, from PTSD to cancer to rape. Now, the Ryan budget favored by so many Republicans in the House of Representatives would end VA healthcare for over 1.3 million veterans (as my friend Mark Alston-Follansbee, a vet himself, quotes The Hill magazine reporting).

By doing so, we would save enough money to keep the troops in Afghanistan for not even thirteen days. This is dumb as well as disloyal, penny-wise and patriotism-foolish. Who is supporting our troops when they come home?

We have to do that ourselves. We have to fight to change the priorities of the country. While we're doing that, however, we can at least on a personal level treat vets as our neighbors and fellow human beings. Please read this article by my friend veteran Bill Shelton for tips on how.