"Now is The Winter of our Discontent"

Memorial Day 2014

With a deep sigh, I lamented, "Have we had enough yet?" At what crossroads do we leave the set path and take our own? These thoughts came to me as I followed the latest Veteran Administration (VA) scandal  For those of us who served in the military and/or had our own Fathers (or other relatives serve), we have been acutely aware of the reputation of the VA for many many years.The VA has long been known by Veterans as a sort of meat grinder, a place to go to die. Just another battlefield. That was bad enough Then over the last few days a huge scandal broke into the news concerning the VA. 

It seems that the VA has placed Veterans on a sort waiting list. A waiting list that no one gets called from.. This waiting list seems to have been a political animal. A political animal that would result in the death of several Veterans as they awaited medical treatment from the VA.. To add insult to injury, an internet based news story reported that a whistle blower from the VA had stated that a Supervisor from the VA had said  (paraphrasing) That older Vets should be taken out and shot in the head. 

Considering the current political climate, I don't find this statement surprising or shocking at all. And for someone reading this article  you might wonder "why I might think this?" The answer is quite simple. The demographics of American Military Veterans in the United States is predominantly male. According to VA projections the number of living veterans by 2040, will be 11,906,60 male veterans, compared to 2,556,166 female veterans. http://www.va.gov/vetdata/veteran_population.asp 

So whats the difference you ask? A veteran is a veteran right? Well ....... not so fast. In the U.S. the difference in the minds of our government, corporations and the mainstream media is deep and profound. Special interest groups, including the democratic party, feminist groups affiliated with the left and labor unions have advanced the political ideology of female gender (feminism). And they have joined forces with other left leaning organizations and politicians to fund and support programs which help to foster ideas and pass laws that disenfranchise male citizens.

Gender Bias, military duty and selective Service;

The reality in war is that men carry the weight of the battle. The numbers and statistics (see above link) quoted by the Veterans Administration cannot and does not lie. The numbers can't ... they just can't.
The numbers speak for themselves.

It is also a foregone conclusion, that by law, that women are not required to register for selective service. Their military service has always been classified as a "choice". The United States government has implemented the draft on several occasions including the Civil War, WWI, WWII and Viet Nam. At no time in U.S. History was any female expected to serve against her will. However,  in the last few months, Hillary Clinton (former First Lady, Secretary of State and possible Presidential Candidate) stated that "women bare the brunt of war" NOTHING COULD BE FURTHER FROM THE TRUTH. Men carrier the burden of war. And they have carried this burden for thousands of years. Additionally, one of the main reason they went to war was to protect "Home" and country. In other words ... to protect women and children.. lets be truthful here.

PTSD, Divorce and Suicide;

While the current administration and the U.S. Military have become extreme advocates for gay rights, anti-sexual assault and anti-sexual harassment. The suicide rates among male military personnel has soared to unacceptable numbers. Former and current military members have also found themselves being victimized by the greed of family courts and corrupt lawyers. All while losing their rights to participate in their lives of their own children. It is estimated that suicides rates for veterans will not decrease for many years to come and hundreds of Vets will kill themselves every year. PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) has become an ongoing headline in many news stories. The reasons for this are very apparent. Soldiers were used as hardware and not recognized for what they are... HUMAN. The tempo of deployments after 9-11 were extremely high and military personnel were forced to participate in multiple deployments while under the tactics of extreme threat and duress. These tactics were not only used on active duty (regular) military personnel but on reserve and state level guard units as well.


 "Now is the winter of our discontent". 
( Shakespeare; King Richard III Act I, Scene I).