Even one is too many

June 6, 2005

One of the more tragic stories from the past couple of days comes from Stars and Stripes on the issue of veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan returning home — and becoming homeless.

Advocates for the homeless already are seeing veterans from the war on terror living on the street, and say the government must do more to ease their transition from military to civilian life.

Linda Boone, executive director of the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans, said about 70 homeless veterans who fought in Iraq and Afghanistan contacted her group’s facilities in 2004, and another 125 homeless veterans from those conflicts last year petitioned the Department of Veterans Affairs for assistance.

“It’s not a big wave, but it’s an indicator that we still haven’t done our job,” she said. “I think that our nation would be very embarrassed if they knew that.”

There’s ample policy discussion about military benefits and efforts, usually launched by congressional Dems, to improve soldiers’ health care, housing, survivor benefits, etc. But the very idea that an American can serve in the Middle East, put his or her life on the line, and then end up homeless here in the U.S. shortly thereafter is a disgrace. Yes, we’re dealing with a relatively small number of veterans right now, but I’m afraid even one is too many.

Veterans, who once were valued as active-duty soldiers carrying out their assigned duties in Bush’s “War Against the World,” have served their useful purpose and no longer matter to the powers that be.

The same phenomenon applies to embryoes and fetuses; they are useful to demagogue and use political pawns, but after they are born as actual living and breathing human beings they are no longer useful to the “culture of life” until later, when they are dead again (e.g., the death penalty, Terri Schiavo, etc.) — at which point they become another form of useful political pawns
to the powers that be.

Shameful, hypocritical, a scandal if these stories ever saw the light of day. I guess the answer is: IOKIYAR

  • Every time I see one of those “Support our Troops” signs or ribbons I want to shout (and sometimes do scribble) “SUPPLY our Troops / support our VETERANS”. I don’t add “you greedy GOP bastards”. Wouldn’t want to incur the wrath of Joe Biden or John Edwards.

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