We Need A Veteran Revolution

How about a veteran revolution? We live in such a black and white world, that it seems everything is a two-sided argument. In the middle of these verbal battles though we can forget there are people.

I see it everyday with veterans and issues like PTSD. The government spends millions, even billions of dollars on an inefficient system that needs changed, and more often than not just throws it hands up and says, “see, we are spending money, we care.” Why, because it is easy for government to spend money, but hard for them to make really substantive changes that are totally focused on caring for veterans instead of politics. Focus, efficiency, and effectiveness are taboo words in DC! 🙂

And then on the other side of the veteran/PTSD issue is the a) public that is upset by this and b) the public that doesn’t care.

The public that is upset can forget that veterans live right next door to them, they are in your home, they are in your church, they are in the coffee shop you visit. You don’t have to wait for the government to get its act together. You can act. You can reach out. I don’t think individually we do enough to reach and help our veterans. We are more than happy to complain about the VA and hope they take care of everything, or give a donation to some vet organization, but what do we personally do in the life of an actual human being?

And as for the public that doesn’t care? Never before in our history have fewer people served compared to the general population. So guess what, they probably are never going to care. Politicians know this, which is why so much political talk is lip service. All the more reason to rise up and do something.

Caught in the middle, our veterans. And it is also a whole host of other issues – poverty, crime – you name it. We like to point fingers, but we don’t like to look in the mirror.

Look in the mirror. When is the last time you went out of your way to help a veteran or anyone in need?We need a revolution, a veteran revolution. Revolutions start with individuals. Start yours today. Visit that homeless shelter. Buy someone who looks sad in the cafe’ a coffee. Forgive someone who has done you wrong. Whatever it is, start you personal revolution today. That is how the world gets changed.