JessieShires.com

I’ve added the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America to my sidebar, and I hope you’ll join me in supporting their work. If you wonder why they and those who are doing similar work are needed, if you believe that our government actually Supports Our Troops, read this article, just the most recent I’ve read of many that will break your heart and piss you off and perhaps inspire you to leave a flaming bag of dog poo on Cheney’s door step, should you live in a gated community just this side of Hades.

Or you could just pray to your preferred deity that Obama will live up to that Nobel and get us the fuck out of our various, still-undeclared wars. Just because we fell victim to one of the classic blunders doesn’t mean we have to keep blundering.

I and my family have a vested interest in this. I can’t tell the story here, for it’s not mine to share, but I can say this: it provokes a righteous anger in me to think of how my country has dishonored the Warrior spirit of those called to serve. I may not agree with the particulars of this conflict, but I believe in the nobility and correctness of the Warrior–and that nobility is betrayed when our Warriors are sent to war under less-than-honorable circumstances, and when they are abandoned in their time of greatest need.

So, please support IAVA, Soldier’s Heart, and folks who are doing work like them. Read The Sun’s interview with Edward Tick and have hope. Petition your representatives, say a prayer, and listen to those who have returned. No war ever happens only Over There; it is always here among us, and we ignore that to our shame.