Anger…

A feeling that sometimes blinds us and leads us into dark physical as well as emotional alleys from which there may be no return…

In the many years I have been a “communicator” there has always been a basic rule which I was taught at the very beginning by those who trained me, and which I have tried to follow… not always successfully: Don’t speak blindly in anger for those words which are spewed at a moment of ire, can never be taken back and may destroy more than what they may build.

Tonight is different; there are far too many instances that are totally incongruent between what we profess to live and what we, as a nation, choose to actually live.

As I watch a show in which different regular Joes and Josephines are being awarded for actions of heroic measurements, there is one in particular which has brought this feeling forward.

We, as a nation, have sent our young men and women off to wars, at one time or another, in just about all corners of the world. While they are there, we call them and hail them as heroes. But… what happens when they come back?  What happens when they come to families which have suffered in their absence? To jobs which are no longer there, or which may be lost because they suffer from a lingering disease, be it physical or emotional, as a result of those months spent in combat, in fear of losing their lives at any time? What happens when they lose their homes for not being any longer able to pay the mortgage?

One of those being honored tonight is a Hispanic veteran. An Iraq vet, to be exact. Why is he considered a hero? Because after he came back, he realized there were far too many (as he says: “one is one too many”) veterans who had come back and had found themselves in one or more of the situations described in the above paragraph and were living as destitute homeless under bridges and in desert shacks.

When he tried to find them help and came up against the useless bureaucracy which was supposed to be a help to these people who had become the forgotten “heroes”, he founded “Vet Hunters”. This is a non profit organization whose only purpose is to “hunt” for those veterans wherever they may be and help them to, somehow, rejoin society as productive members, once again. His group has managed to help upwards of one hundred abandoned returning veterans. For this, he was rewarded as a hero, as well this army veteran should be.

So, why my anger?  Very simply, because we should never need to have a hero of this type. The least we as a nation can do is to insure these folk have priority access to all those services, gifts, moneys and help many who have never served or even worked, receive on a regular basis. That is a source of anger for me, as a veteran. I do not say take away from those who truly need to receive, but I do say that those who have put their all on the line so these others would have the right to demand and receive, should be considered for the very same help.

Without having to have an individual hero who understands this, and who is willing to continue to put himself at risk in order to help those very men and women who gave up all on our behalf.

As a nation, we spend billions … hell, trillions... of dollars in many areas, in countries which don’t really even like us but just take our money and in untold projects… many which could be called questionable at best. Yet, we can’t seem to find those funds, small in comparison, to help people who have earned the right to that assistance by serving our nation. Yes, I also include those who were accepted into service being undocumented and, upon returning home, often find themselves with nothing and with no help because… you guessed it… they have no documents.          

Am I angry? You bet I am. Not only as a citizen but also as a veteran who went into the US Army  in the 1960’s as undocumented, and received a presidential pardon which allowed me to become a productive citizen for the better part of 40 years.

These returning heroes deserve better and we have to see that they get their just dues.

Be Well … Be Back!!!

Final Notes:

• Pray for those who are fighting an illness which may take them away from their loved ones… Every request is heard, and counts!!
• Follow us on Twitter … @RJAsPandora
• Any comments please send to otherboxp@yahoo.com
• “La Otra Caja de Pandora”… The Spanish language Blog… “otracaja.blogspot.com” … Bienvenidos!!!