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Community Corner

Neglected Veterans

It's very difficult to see the Memorial Day events this weekend, with all the parades and tributes to those who gave their lives in support of this country, with all the recent news about how badly this country is treating those wounded veterans who badly need the medical care they deserve. It was our first president, George Washington, who said that a nation is defined by the way it treats it's veterans. Well, after reading and hearing about how the Veterans Administration is treating today's wounded and needy veterans dating back to the Vietnam war, casts this country in a terrible light. Too many politicians waste no time in sending our best off to unwarranted wars only to have them return and treated like discarded and battered rags. It's all fine to reflect on those who died but what about those who've returned broken physically and mentally and find out they are being sent to filthy hospitals, denied care and too often left to die waiting to be seen by overworked doctors. How does this reflect on our country now? What does this say about the hypocrisy behind these tributes by the same politicians who bear responsibility for sending them off to ill advised wars in the first place? Unless this country is prepared to care for every soldier, sailor, airman or other military personnel who return from battle, we should stand up to those in Washington who believe that sending troops into battle is the first way to settle disputes. 

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