You know, we kick our opinions (and each other) all around this board. But the real cost of the war is a hypothetical construct to most us too old, too busy, too disinterested to enlist. Here's a link on MSNBC I found the other day talking about the damage being done to Americans in Iraq.
We focus a lot on the rising number of dead, but the number of wounded outstrips the dead by far. And they're coming home; to what? A lifetime of pain and disability in VA hospitals and group homes. Their young families are completely unprepared for the new reality imposed on their lives.
I grew up in the Vietnam generation. As a social worker I've met countless Vietnam vets tossed out upon their return home to fend for themselves with their memories, chemical dependencies, and inability to find a place to fit in.
We laud them as heroes on the nightly news. Once they're home we look the other way as we pass them panhandling on the street; too strung out, demon-haunted, or psychotic to ever be called a hero by anyone again.
We did a miserable job with our Vietnam vets. I wish I could believe we were going to do better with the new generation of soldiers. Read the article in the link below- and then go re-listen to Baerwald's "Stranger". Then bring that to your next post regarding the Iraq war.
