More Veterans Day Thoughts

We will have to repent in this generation
not merely for the vitriolic words and actions
of the bad people,
but for the appalling silence of the good people
--Martin Luther King, Jr.

Rule #1:
Use your good judgment in all situations.
There will be no additional rules
--Nordstrom's Employee Handbook
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[Note: Ranger had a flight of reverie on Veterans Day which was lost to the morgue, so without further ado . . .]

When we think of veterans we think of war, and we toss around terms like "victory", which sounds patriotic and for lack of better words, we then feel like we are honoring our veterans:

Patriotism --> Veterans --> War
Veterans --> War --> Patriotism
War --> Patriotism --> Veterans

The order is not understood, but Victory issues forth from killing enterprises, which is linked to War but seldom to Peace. When was the last time veterans' wartime efforts won the U.S. peace? The U.S. may glory in the illusion of victory, but when has that victory won peace?

Peace may be a noble pursuit worthy of the sacrifice of our veterans. Why did they freeze at The Bulge or on the Chosin Reservoir? Why did they attack and counterattack on nameless hills in far-flung countries? Why did we live, fight and die in jungle thickets?

Wherever we were sent we complied with whatever we were ordered to do, to the limits of our endurance. Why did soldiers endure death marches and starvation in Prisoner of War camps? We do not do it to win wars, but rather to secure the blessings of liberty and peace in our national life. Peace and not win wars -- are those the same concepts?

War is only a tool for attaining peace. If this is not true, then we have abandoned Enlightenment principles ad the Age of Reason is grown dun.

More ruminations later.

Yesterday's Gone

Suddenly I'm not half the man I used to be

There's a shadow hanging over me

Oh, yesterday came suddenly

--Yesterday, The Beatles

'My head hangs weighed with snow.'

And when I hearken to the Earth, she saith:

'My fiery heart shrinks, aching. It is death.

Mine ancient scars shall not be glorified,

Nor my titanic tears, the seas, be dried.'

--The End, Wilfred Owen

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It has been over a week now. The Veterans Day parade came and went, and Ranger wonders how many folks in long-term Department of Veterans Affairs care were visited by any patriots in their fervor on that day.

The floats and flags are now stowed and those of us veterans with disabilities continue to do what we do since we are obligated to be disabled 365 days of the year. Even watching a fancy parade down main street will not un-disable us. The problem is, we hide on the side streets and back alleys beyond the recognition of society.

Aside from the photo ops fronting the local section of the paper on such days that make us feel like we are actually recognizing in any meaningful way the life of a soldier, most of us keep to ourselves because you do not really want to know what's behind that grand concept, patriotism. So veterans become this shunted off group of untouchables who fraternize at hooches and tell tall tales and drink too much, or they shop late at night to avoid too much sensory input, or, after a period of alienation, manage to compartmentalize war and not look in that room too often, if they are lucky. Then they look like you, and you feel more comfortable.

That is where the parades pass us by. They are taking us to the wrong destination, a Disneyland called "Patriotic".

Ranger calls it "idiotic".
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NOTE: If you want to actually meet a veteran and have a DVA hospital or outpatient clinic in your area, we highly encourage you to visit and volunteer, if you have that leisure. You will learn far more about the patriotic experience than any parade will give you.

Body of Evidence

Alienation as our present destiny
is achieved only by outrageous violence
perpetrated by human beings on human beings
--R. D. Laing

It is of fundamental importance not to make
the positivist mistake of assuming
that because a group’s members are in formation
this means that they’re necessarily on course
--R. D. Laing

Mr. Duffy lived a short distance from his body
--A Painful Case, James Joyce
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This is dedicated to all who know of what I speak.

As a reader of cheap mysteries and police procedurals, we are wed to the concept of means, motives and opportunity, the keys to solving any crime. These are the same concepts that led all of us veterans to the status we inhabit.

The wars were the means and the Army the opportunity, leaving the motive for individual examination. Before doing that, however, let us examine the literal body of evidence. I will use my body of evidence, but there are millions of you out there possessing similar evidence in and on your bodies.

Is it the scarred and battered body that is the veteran, or is it the thing between the ears? In civilian life there is a presumption of unity, but that is not exactly true for veterans. We all know about the mind - body schism, and that there is more than one me occupying our bodies at any given time. The following are some veteran schisms:

The me that force marched while freezing cold and body numb. There is the me that wanted to cry because I was so miserably exhausted with no hope for relief; that is the me that wanted mercy. Then there is the me that has no mercy.

There is the disembodied me that stood outside of my body, and still does on occasion, watching in wonder and amazement at the play of life. There is the me that depersonalizes and splits the being; veterans can do disembodied every day of their lives.

So the mind is a veteran, and I am in a danger zone without far security. There are so many me's that I could have my own parade, or at least my own float. If it is my mind that makes me a vet, then we should combine Memorial and Veterans Day because there is some dead veteran in there, too.

If it is my body, the evidence is a little more obvious. The ears are shot and constantly buzz and are painful. The head is prone to basal cell carcinoma, along with the arms and neck. The cervical spine is arthritic. The arms, hands and legs are numb, lacking areas of sensation. The left ulnar nerve is damaged, the hands shake, the lumbar spine should be DX'd. The left testis doesn't hang with it's twin, and some will say I'm just plain nuts beyond the obvious lack.

So the body is a veteran, too, but a very lucky one at that. My physical condition at 65 is still so much better that that of many of my fellows.

Which returns me to the question: is it my mind or my body that makes me a veteran? We have the means and opportunity, but have not answered "motive" yet. Regardless of the answer, we are left with a body of evidence which allows me to stand outside of myself and see that I crossed a bridge a long time ago, a bridge without a return pass. Having crossed that bridge I am forever a veteran, even now, amongst civilians.

When I depersonalize at least I can get out of my head and go watch a parade, if one should pass me by; not so for many other vets.

To all my fellow vets I send my admiration and best wishes.

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FYI: Ranger's vet rep informed him about an online resource for 200+ stores and services offering discounts to veterans: BradsDeals.com