America should return favor to its veterans
Images of the brave, the wounded and the proud are things Americans should remember when celebrating Veterans Day.
It is more than a parade and a social media post. It is remembering the fallen and appreciating the bold. Yet citizens seem to forget this and focus more on Twitter hashtags and Snapchat filters.
Veterans may not be common in every American family nowadays, but their service has affected every American family. Approximately 22 million people in the U.S. are veterans.
The impact of their commitment is of great importance. These men and women served not only for their loved ones but also for complete strangers.
Although veterans have risked it all for their country, the government has not always returned the same courtesy. Roughly 40,000 veterans are homeless, making 11 percent of the homeless population in America veterans. And half of that 11 percent served in the Vietnam War, according to the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans.
People should ask what if it was their parent or grandparent living on the street due to an extreme shortage of affordable housing, livable income, access to health care and substance abuse.
To defend America but America not protect them afterward with the mental illness, drug/alcohol abuse and other disorders caused by the effects of war is a moral crime on the government’s behalf.
A veteran should not be considered a hero in Afghanistan and be homeless in America.
Some believe Veterans Day is falsely predicated on the idea that people choose to risk their lives for their country to cash in on the promise of free college tuition.
But this idea is false. Veterans served the country out of pride, love and dignity for their home.
Not to say some don’t join to attend college free of charge, but there is a reason there is an age requirement to enlist. Maturity.
Veterans Day is predicated on the idea that people choose to risk their lives for their country and for that, we should be grateful.
For the discomforts endured, the separation from normalcy and the fight for common good, we owe our appreciation and recognition for the men and women who defended our families and friends as well as our community and country. We also owe them the safety they have given us.
They sit beside us in the classroom, wait behind us in the grocery store and even live in the same house as some. The Collegian staff encourages the TCC community to thank, honor and celebrate these veterans this upcoming Veterans Day.
TCC offers support and services to community veterans who have served and defended our country. This includes educational benefits, VetSuccess centers and advising/counseling on each campus.
In the end, “Thank you for your service,” will never equal the appreciation veterans deserve, but our individual and community’s actions can.
