Comments on fever: belated

I know what you mean. I've seen them too. Pe...

2011-11-22T10:48:59.800-05:00

I know what you mean. I've seen them too. People come back from war transformed. I don't know why it happens when they're younger. It didn't seem to be like that for the WWII generation. But maybe it had been spread around enough among the population that they had people to commiserate with. These recent wars are run by very few people for very long periods. No wonder they're suffering.

My dad served in Vietnam and rarely talks bout it,...

2011-11-21T07:30:07.757-05:00

My dad served in Vietnam and rarely talks bout it, when he does they are not very good tales. One of the few times I saw him cry was when we were visiting the traveling wall and he found his friend's name. The friend that was shot right behind him. He watched him die. He watched his head be blown off. As awful as it sounds it is the truth.
My dad is a wreck near the 4th of July. I remember a neighbor setting off fireworks in the early morning and my dad waking in screams. Over 40 years later. My dad will be the first to tell you war is awful. He wanted to buy my brother a ticket to Canada when my brother was sent to the Middle East.
To think my dad made it through but if a man, a boy, has a predisposition for mental health issues or alcohol or drug abuse, and if they saw what my dad saw and went through what my dad went through?? Well the end result is obvious.
The main problem is the military is hard up for members and without the possibility of a draft they will take anyone. And the main pool is children who are already on the edge of major behavior issues. The idea that tough disciple will cure for these men, these boys, is a bit short-sided. Think about the notion of "Put him in the military, that will straighten him out." Sure the military might take care of some regimented behavior issues, but it doesn't take care of the real deep social behavior issues. War can really damage a person. We hail these men as brave, and they are. They are so brave. We just forget they re damaged. And some were damaged from the very start.

it is always our young men we send to do the dirty...

2011-11-20T19:24:04.733-05:00

it is always our young men we send to do the dirty work. Whatever your views are regarding the latest wars for political, religious, or patriotic reasons, to turn our backs when they come back broken, if they come back, is an abomination. I hope someday a lasting peace will come to this world. I fear it never will.

i blame religion. there. i said it.

2011-11-20T19:06:08.269-05:00

i blame religion. there. i said it.

It's so sad and why after all these years and ...

2011-11-19T07:59:47.464-05:00

It's so sad and why after all these years and all the wars have we not figured out something different so we will have a different out come.

This is sad! And the fact that they are so young....

2011-11-19T06:18:33.141-05:00

This is sad! And the fact that they are so young...sigh!! Breaks my heart!
Hugs
SueAnn

There's mostly rhetoric for prevention. There&...

2011-11-18T22:07:03.708-05:00

There's mostly rhetoric for prevention. There's still a lot of mistrust for those still serving to seek help. They fear they'll be singled out, flagged, talked about in hushed tones, etc. Have you seen the suicide rates? They're astonishing. I can only imagine what domestic violence rates are like, among other things. None of these guys come back the same. None. Of. Them. Even the ones declared to have a clean bill of health. They supposedly have no PTSD. No other issues. They're not the same. Not the same at all, and neither are the families.

Did you see "Where Soldiers Come From" o...

2011-11-18T18:42:05.733-05:00

Did you see "Where Soldiers Come From" on PBS. It is a new documentary that really enlightened me. It is so scary the total effect of war o these people. Really, watch it if you haven't. http://www.pbs.org/pov/wheresoldierscomefrom/full.php

The main difference today is that the ones who'...

2011-11-18T14:03:25.045-05:00

The main difference today is that the ones who've returned are members of an "all volunteer" military. The odds are that they've been deployed more than once, and for far longer than most of the old-timers were. They've seen more stuff in a brief time than most of us will ever see in a lifetime. All we can do is thank them, because unless we've been there we can't understand it.