Veterans Day

I find myself feeling rather guilty this Veterans Day. Guilt that I have tried to assuage by becoming fluent on the historical significance of Veterans day.

Veterans Day (no apostrophe grammar nerds, the official spelling is that of the attributive form, not the possessive) has only existed as we know it since 1954. Prior to 1954 Veterans Day was known as Armistice Day and was in honor of the end of The Great War. In`1954, knowing all too well that The Great War hadn't in fact been "the war to end all wars" and that the generation of men who had fought at the behest of their country in 1914 wouldn't be the last that warranted a day of remembrance and honor, a shoe salesman (and WWII veteran) named Al King began lobbying for Armistice Day to celebrate more than just World War One. So Eisenhower expanded Wilson's holiday to encompass ALL veterans, expanding those honored but keeping the sentiment the same.

Why Veterans Day is celebrated on November 11th is surprisingly poetic, it coincides with the signing of the Armistice by Germany in 1918: the 11th hour, of the 11th day, of the 11th month. I'm always surprised to find poetry in anything associated with the government, thus I was not surprised to find that in 1971 the government moved Veterans Day from the 11th to the 4th Monday in October for the sake of 'consistency.' Thank all that is holy that someone came to their senses 7 years later and moved it back to the 11th.

I am running low on history here and before I get to the guilt that I am trying to assuage, I'd like to take a moment to appreciate those who serve in our military. While I may not agree with or admittedly understand the whys and hows of armed conflict, that doesn't mitigate the sacrifice these men and women make. In recent years their service has been voluntary, but again that doesn't mitigate their service, a service that is rendered faithfully and often thanklessly. Thank you.

The guilt that I am struggling with at the moment is not due to a lack of appreciation for the soldiers, but rather an outrage with the institutions that wage these wars. The psychological and psycho-social ramifications of war upon the men and women who fight in them, have been well documented to range anywhere from mild anxiety disorders to incapacitating PTSD and debilitating depression. The Vietnam War is notorious not only because of the social opposition it inspired in Americans, but more significantly because of the marginalization of it's veterans once it was over. The lack of social and psychological support for these veterans combined with a society desperate to forget, resulted in thousands of soldiers who were unable to assimilate back into mainstream culture being disparaged and forgotten. It's amazing how human beings are capable of so much, but learning from our mistakes is clearly not something we excel at.

The scandals associated with this current war in the Middle East just keep coming: poor medical care, faulty personal armor and protective gear, insufficient information and abuses of power. We never learn. Veterans Day is not meant to be the ONLY day of the year that we express our appreciation and when you're trying to show anything, specifically gratitude, actions speak louder than words.

So today (yes, I am going to go here) I would like to send a recognition of Major Nidal Malik Hassan out to the Universe. He brought unmentionable pain and suffering upon his peers at Fort Hood last week when he open-fired in the middle of the cafeteria. (Technically he is still being referred to as a suspect but lets face it, he held the gun and while innocent until proven guilty we can all but assume that it was he who fired it.) He is a soldier and a psychiatrist who was charged with caring for his fellow soldiers mental stability in combat, but who was watching out for him? This is a soldier whose ability to cope was failing and who tried time and time again to not be sent back to Afghanistan - only to be refused and told that his services were still needed. It doesn't excuse or explain what he did and it doesn't atone for the additional suffering that he has inflicted on more American soldiers and their families. Still I have to ask, how did he slip through the cracks? How was he able to become so desperate, so unhinged and so unable to differentiate between right and wrong?

Even more distressing in my mind than a disturbed soldier slipping SO FAR through the cracks that such a tragedy was possible, it the reaction that we as a society have had to it. Had he been a blonde-haired, blue-eyed, white Baptist from Omaha, we would be mourning this tragedy and examining the course of events that led up to it. Instead we are condemning, feeding hysteria, prejudice and intolerance. I get that the facts have to be looked at in light of what we are and not distorted by what we wish we were. I know that no matter how distasteful it might be to our finer sentiments, given our current situation his religion and ethnicity may very well be pertinant. To drag these facts over the coals of sensationalism and to re-enervate old, very tenuously based and ultimately disproved claims of disloyalty does not make it any less of a tragedy and is despicable. Look at the facts yes, search for answers but let us not forget that what we already know: the ravages of war do not stop with the casualties of armed conflict. His Arab heritage does not by default, exclude us from taking part of the blame upon ourselves.