Today is Veterans Day -- you could almost be excused if you forgot that, since the holiday as been as mistreated as some of our wounded vets themselves, moved back and forth and nearly forgotten (but, hey, the Flyers are playing an afternoon game!). Anyway, you should take a moment to reflect and say thanks to millions of Americans who have given their country so much, including for all too many the ultimate sacrifice.
Now, the arrival of new administration offers a glimmer of hope that we can be more thankful to U.S. veterans every day. With 70 days left in the current president's term, there's little need to chronicle the funding cuts, the Walter Reed scandal, the rise in homeless vets and other indignities these men and women have suffered. Now the focus is on what an Obama administration can do:
One veterans' group, the Iraq Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA) just issued a to-do list for President-elect Barack Obama, calling on him to pay close attention to vets' affairs. The call includes the need to fund veterans' health care one year in advance, so the VA budget doesn't require hospitals and clinics to ration care.
IAVA also is pushing the Department of Defense to resolve whether and how GI bill benefits will be transferable from service members to their families. And it wants the president-elect to recruit more mental-health professionals. The president does what he can, but it's time we all did more. IAVA points out that community members can volunteer at local VA hospitals or local chapters of the National Guard. And you can join the IAVA mailing list to be alerted to local veterans' events (www.iava.org). Imagine being plucked from your life and loved ones, and shipped across the world to fight in a dangerous war. Then consider how you'd want to be treated when - and if - you return.
We all have a responsibility to make sure that treatment is honorable, and the concern lasts longer than a day.
Absolutely. The economic downturn is no excuse not to pay back our moral obligations. Let's hope the next landmark day for veterans isn't next Nov. 11, but next Jan. 20.
