That's right, I said "FUCKING". Normally I am a lady, but when it comes to my friends and family being ignored and destroyed, I have to cuss. So should you.
Yesterday, Friday May 30th, Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki, resigned from his post. Reports came out that showed blatant abuse and fraudulent activity towards Veterans who were seeking health care. It was so bad for our vets, that many died while waiting to get health care. This is completely unacceptable. We, as a country, owe these men and women our lives. Yes, our lives. These are people who chose to stand up and fight for our freedom. Some of them were even drafted and had no choice. They did it anyway. They put on a uniform and said "My family needs me to be brave and fight and possibly die so that they may live in peace." How in the world did it come to this? Those men and women who died waiting for health care, may as well have died while fighting. I am not just talking about psychical ailments. I am talking about mental health as well.
So many of our veterans come home and can not function in society. They are mentally still at war. They have stresses that you and I could never imagine. Seeing brothers and sisters die in battle, having to sit through gun fire and bombs, putting a gun to a child's head because they have a bomb strapped to them. This would fuck up even the strongest among us. My family experienced the post traumatic stress disorder first hand. I do not wish to go into detail, other than to tell you it was gut wrenching seeing someone who fought to protect us, wither away. Luckily for my family, the person was able to overcome their issues.
What about those soldiers that slip through the cracks? What about those people that "Snap"? You see more and more instances of violence from these soldiers who did not get the proper mental care they so need. Have you looked up the amount of suicides among Veterans?? Let me tell you, its beyond alarming. Every day 22 Veterans take their own lives. That is 22 more than what is acceptable. (That statistic came from a CNN article)
yeah, there is a problem. The problem, is that no one paid attention to what was going on. From the President, to the Senate, to congress, to you and me. We didn't stand up and take notice. Even though, some of us experienced the pain first hand, we did nothing. We didn't fight for our own soldier so how can we fight for others. It's hard to hear. It's hard to believe that we wouldn't help a loved one, but we didn't. It makes me sick to think of just how many people lost their lives in a war that could have been prevented.
You know what really pisses me off? The fact that everyone is up in arms about something ridiculous, like Gay Marriage. Really? Why is this even up for debate? America is the land of equality. Let Gay people get married so we can give more money to Veteran hospitals and to mental health research. All this money being spent so that American citizens can have the right that they should already have, is absolute rubbish.
Let's put the Veteran issues on the back burner.
What about the average joe shmo citizen that can not get the mental health help that they need? How many instances of murderous rampage is it going to take before sick people stop slipping through the cracks? Seriously. Then you have the people who are asking for and reaching out for help. These people have to be on a waiting list to even get analyzed for care. The average person can not just check into rehab.
Heaven forbid, Lindsey Lohan and Amanda Bynes be put on a waiting list. In fact they can just enter rehab as often as they want to, so long as it keeps the judge happy. It's just sick.
In conclusion, I need to get all kinds of degrees and titles, so that I can take over the VA hospitals and make sure they are running in tip top shape. I also need a bunch of degrees so I can help out the mentally sicks people who seek help.
This is not a debate. If you disagree with my opinion, that is fine. You won't change my mind, and I do not wish to change yours.
