Great piece here, Allen. Reminded me of the book, Tribe, I reviewed not long ago, which puts the onus on the society to which veterans return--lacking in social bonds and feelings of belonging. The idea is that military service is good in so far as it provides an environment where your fellows have your back and you have a definite role to fulfil. Civilian culture in the West is so damaged, it's practically the inverse.
I've also been reading a lot of articles about anti-depressants lately impugning them with causing more harm than good, leading not only to suicide, but also to mass shootings and the like. No doubt, that has a lot to do with the suicide rate increasing among veterans.
So much to say on this article, but I'll cut it short here.
Damn Allen, what a powerful post. It opened my eyes to seeing vets in a different light. Sheds some sense on the suicide stats and gave a remarkable view of the contrast of our feminized culture with the mandatory masculine culture of the service. This is one I will be pondering for a while. Loved the reference to boxing as a good path for vets at the end. Many thanks.
Great piece here, Allen. Reminded me of the book, Tribe, I reviewed not long ago, which puts the onus on the society to which veterans return--lacking in social bonds and feelings of belonging. The idea is that military service is good in so far as it provides an environment where your fellows have your back and you have a definite role to fulfil. Civilian culture in the West is so damaged, it's practically the inverse.
I've also been reading a lot of articles about anti-depressants lately impugning them with causing more harm than good, leading not only to suicide, but also to mass shootings and the like. No doubt, that has a lot to do with the suicide rate increasing among veterans.
So much to say on this article, but I'll cut it short here.
Damn Allen, what a powerful post. It opened my eyes to seeing vets in a different light. Sheds some sense on the suicide stats and gave a remarkable view of the contrast of our feminized culture with the mandatory masculine culture of the service. This is one I will be pondering for a while. Loved the reference to boxing as a good path for vets at the end. Many thanks.