With all the excitement of the election, let’s not forget Veteran’s Day on November 11th. On this day, a grateful nation is supposed to thank its veterans for all they have done so that we may maintain our freedoms.
This date, November 11th, is the anniversary of the signing of the Armistice which ended hostilities between the Allies and Germany, in 1918, thus ending World War One. On November 11th, 1919 Armistice Day was celebrated for the first time, and on May 13th, 1938, Congress made November 11th of each year a legal holiday known as Armistice Day. On June 1st, 1954, Congress approved changing the name of this holiday to Veteran’s Day.
Are we honoring our veterans and saying “thank you” in meaningful ways? Unfortunately, we are not and the picture is not good. In 2015 there were 18.8 million veterans and 57, 840 were homeless on any given night. About 12% of the adult homeless population are veterans. We are seeing 22 suicides a day, primarily due to poor mental health treatment. Many veterans are unable to get decent quality and timely care in VA facilities and those seeking disability payments frequently face long delays in getting claims processed. Many of the reservists and those in the National Guard came home from the battlefield to find that jobs that were supposed to be held for them while they served were unavailable. The care in many VA hospitals is horrible and there has been, and continues to be, terrible neglect and poor response time to the needs of the veterans. The Veterans Administration is failing our veterans even though Congress has voted millions more to ensure quality care on a timely basis for these men and women.
The current atmosphere in many areas of the country does not honor and pay tribute to these heroes who kept us safe and fought so that we could continue to enjoy all of our freedoms and our beloved American traditions. Perhaps the national attitude needs some adjustment. There are those who live in this country, enjoy all that it gives us, and proclaim loudly how much they hate America. To them, I say “Go to another country of your choice. We certainly do not want you or need you here.” The veterans laid their lives on the line so that these stupid, spoiled, ignorant jerks can open their big mouths and vilify the United States of America. They do not appreciate what has been done for them and therefore if you can’t appreciate this country, I say again “get out”. Many members of my family have been veterans, love our country, and served proudly. I honor them and all veterans on November 11th and every day. So should you.
There are things occurring in this country, and around the world that foreshadow a coming conflagration that could easily turn into a world war. We may have to look to our young men and women to be on the front lines once again…and will they go, in the face of the near-impossible ways we have to conduct war now?
Image:By Petty Officer 1st Class Adam Eggers – https://www.dvidshub.net/image/1089331, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=39091838
