marjorie says...
Today is another one of those national holidays that always lead to incredibly ridiculous conversations. Veteran's Day (you didn't know today was a holiday?). The other's are Memorial Day, Independence Day, and Columbus Day.
These are all holidays that beg for critical commentary, which invariably invites charges that a person is unpatriotic or doesn't "support the troops." I don't even go there but must have a magnet on my forehead that says "Today is the day you can easily get into an argument with Marjorie. Go for it." If you find yourself in one of these conversations, here are challenges you can make to the magnetic bumper sticker crowd:
- Get in touch with your congressperson and demand more health services for Veterans with post traumatic stress disorder. Wait...better yet, stop sending our young people to a hell-hole in which they are being pitted against a civilian population.
- Go find your local homeless advocacy group and ask what you can do to help all those Vietnam Vets get off the street.
- Stop military recruitment on high school campuses, particularly those in low-income, people of color neighborhoods, that spins dreams of a better future but in reality too often leads to death or life-long mental health problems.
For a far more thoughtful piece, with links to organizations that work on behalf of vets, see Barbara's post at Democracy for New Mexico.
|