I ran across this article today and though I am taking small portion of the letter to highlight a point, this young man hit the nail on the head and shows the lunacy, political manipulation, and false promises the government has given over and over again.
“Is it any wonder then that the latest figures show 22 veterans killing themselves each day? That is more veterans than children killed at Sandy Hook, every single day. Where are the huge policy initiatives? Why isn’t the president standing with those families at the state of the union? Perhaps because we were not killed by a single lunatic, but rather by his own system of dehumanization, neglect, and indifference.”
Stop reading right now and just think about the above statement for a few moments.
What kind of emotions are you feeling right now? I bet not even close to what it’s author felt.
This statement along with what Aaron Weiss said in this video about his “right is more important than your dead because I fought for it first hand.”
We might look at the both of these public statements as two separate events, but in reality they both speak the same. Each are talking about how to meet political ends we forget about those that have made the truest sacrifices that very few can relate. Yet the majority take those individual immolation’s and pretend that they have earned as their own.
Daniel Somers also highlights the “backlog” the VA keeps complaining about yet never seems to do anything about fixing the issues. Again Billions of dollars pissed down a rat hole because bureaucrats are more worried about getting a bonus than actually doing something. Lack of leadership all the way to the top. Politicians are all to concerned about doing the politically expedient, and what feels good than to do the right thing. Our political leaders also wrap themselves in the flag and talk about common sense actions. Yet more vets and active duty personnel continue to die at a rate of 22 a day. The Silence is as quite as a freight train.
What Daniel Somers went through none of us can imagine, let alone ever experienced. I cannot even pretend to know the internal pain this soldier dealt with nor will I ever. I hope you have found peace Daniel, I personally am ashamed that we let a battle buddy perish without offering a shoulder or a hand. The war still continues and will for many more years.
Here are a couple articles that you can read in full about Daniel:
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