For our veterans

As I use my Veterans' day to sit and grade essays, I often check my Facebook.  I find essay grading so dull and tedious, that on days like today, I spend a lot of time daydreaming, cleaning my kitchen, and keeping up on my social media.  As it's Veterans' day, everyone publicly & graciously thanks our military personnel for their tremendous sacrifice.  May we never forget.  Here's an old picture of my dad in his uniform.  And on and on.  And mostly I imagine people are expressing genuine sentiment.

But however genuine the sentiment, it seems utterly a waste of time.  Sure, we all read public thanks and feel better because of our gratitude.  But what good is it?

NPR ran a story Friday stating that, "The Veterans Administration estimates 22 veterans kill themselves each day."   That's 660 lives each month, and a whopping 8,030 veteran suicides per year.  The article points to a few reasons for this horrifying suicide rate: PTSD, a military culture which "sees help-seeking as a weakness instead of something that's a strength," & lousy care by the Veterans Administration.


There are some things I understand.  Suicide is often unpredictable; often it's an impulse rather than a well-considered action.  Additionally, as the article points out, PTSD is challenging to treat, and even with treatment, suicides still happen.  But still, 22 suicides per day?  Seems to me like the VA could do a better job.  Seems to me like what is often touted as the greatest military in the world could do a better job of caring for the lives which make it great.


I'm taking a moment to write today because feeling gratitude for our veterans isn't enough.  A Facebook thanks is a paltry substitute for any meaningful action. We live in a democracy which only functions if we get involved and actually do something.  For those of us who are thoughtful, relatively well-informed, concerned citizens, it's not enough to continue to read & be well-informed and then vote accordingly.  It's time to put our gratitude to work & start advocating for our veterans.  Write to our senators and members of congress.  I did - I've no idea if it'll make any difference, but it seems like a better idea than simply saying thank you on social media.  Take some legitimate action.  Show your appreciation by advocating for our veterans.  Walk your talk, people.