Read this news story this morning and felt it bears repeating:
Sunday, July 15, 2007
Sunday, July 15, 2007
WASHINGTON - "The Dave Matthews Band is urging fans to push Congress to do more to ensure that U.S. troops coming home traumatized by combat get the help they need.
A petition on the band's Web site has 23,000 signatures so far, singer Dave Matthews said in an interview aired Sunday on ABC's "This Week."
The Pentagon and Congress are reviewing possible changes to the military's much-criticized mental health system. A task force last month found that more than one-third of troops and veterans suffer from problems such as traumatic brain injury and post-traumatic stress disorder, and it urged stronger leadership, more money and greater focus on prevention and screening.
"It just struck me as a profound injustice that someone who had given so much of themselves and clearly showed such a quality of personality that the gratitude we're showing them was basically a dishonorable discharge," Matthews said.
The petition asks Congress to investigate reports that some troops' service-related mental health problems have been misdiagnosed by the military as pre-existing personality disorders.
The effort is nonpartisan, the Grammy-winning musician said. "It's only about how we treat people who have given their, essentially, their lives, put their lives in the hands of our country." "
A petition on the band's Web site has 23,000 signatures so far, singer Dave Matthews said in an interview aired Sunday on ABC's "This Week."
The Pentagon and Congress are reviewing possible changes to the military's much-criticized mental health system. A task force last month found that more than one-third of troops and veterans suffer from problems such as traumatic brain injury and post-traumatic stress disorder, and it urged stronger leadership, more money and greater focus on prevention and screening.
"It just struck me as a profound injustice that someone who had given so much of themselves and clearly showed such a quality of personality that the gratitude we're showing them was basically a dishonorable discharge," Matthews said.
The petition asks Congress to investigate reports that some troops' service-related mental health problems have been misdiagnosed by the military as pre-existing personality disorders.
The effort is nonpartisan, the Grammy-winning musician said. "It's only about how we treat people who have given their, essentially, their lives, put their lives in the hands of our country." "
Reading about some of the horrific injuries and conditions these men and women suffer as a result of serving in the military in hostile and violent situations sometimes makes me lose sleep at night. I think about how there I am, lying (laying?) safe in my bed, the only sounds outside being the traffic (I live close to a busy street) and the occasional airliner flying overhead, and there are thousands of soldiers who are making sure I can continue to do just that for as long as I possibly can, hopefully the rest of my life.
It bothers me...no, it angers me how these incredible people, my heroes, are treated as an afterthought in many ways. Some lose jobs, their families break up, the don't have a lot of money or insurance or support. Some may lose their eyesight, a limb, or worse, and yet our country, the very one they defend, turns its back on these individuals in many ways. It's an injustice that they can't get proper medical care.
I hope you all will sign this petition and show your support. While most of us don't believe in war and violence, there's no question that those who do defend us are doing so with honor, with courage, with dignity, and should be treated with such in return. No matter what one's personal views are on the subject, we are all human beings and deserve a chance at a better life, and better healthcare.
Labels: healthcare, troops
posted by Stacy~ at 7/16/2007 05:25:00 AM
The way the US veterans are treated leave much to be desired. Remember Vietnam? Sheesh.
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