Defending Our Defenders

At last. A complex issue that even those who paint the world in black and white can understand. USA Today (Feb. 10, 2011) reported that 16% of homeless people are veterans. Since veterans make up only 10% of the adult population, this ratio far exceeds expectations. More than 136,00 veterans spent at least one night in a homeless shelter last year, a number which fails to tally those living exclusively on the streets.

Those whose extol the virtues of war and pound their chests over their professed support for the military are caught, it seems to me, on the horns of a philosophical dilemma. The stereotypes we hold of the needy don’t jibe with our notion of the character of our troops.  Yet the numbers tell a story of people who need a hand and whom, in an earlier life, all of us would have applauded. What’s going on here?

There are, it would appear, real problems that can’t be solved by issuing more guns, excluding aliens, or giving further tax breaks to the rich. People who served this country, and who once made it on their own, are in need of a hand to help them get their lives back on track.  Will private industry extend that hand? Not likely with 14 million unemployed workers and no clear self-interest at stake. Will churches or charities provide anything more than a meal or a cot? Most can’t afford to.  Will state governments fill the breach?  Not with the current stampede to trim down every aspect of their budgets that involve any form of benevolence.

That leaves only (gasp!) the Federal Government to provide job retraining, healthcare, counseling, and whatever else is needed to help these veterans regain some modest level of prosperity.  Yes, you got yours because you are so smart and self-motivated. Some of us just caught a lucky break. But wouldn’t we all be better off if we lived in a country where there is a pathway to renewal for all those who choose to walk it? 

There are a million gut wrenching stories out there.  Many are complex and deserve a hearing and perhaps even a helping hand.  Those who instinctively turn their backs on the needy suffer from a kind of moral bankruptcy that far exceeds the poverty of those sleeping under bridges.  Worse, they are uncaring or ignorant of the innumerable instances where intervention has elevated a life or an entire family.  When distributed rationally, the $10 trillion national income pie is big enough for all of us to enjoy a generous slice, especially those who fell on hard times after, or perhaps as a result of, defending America.