Will there ever be a promise to veterans? A real promise that is codified? A document that positively states what veterans will receive for their service to country? Not unless we, as veterans, force the issue. No politician is brave enough to step forward and say, “We lied to you,” so it’s up to us. We must raise hell about the issue.
I, for one, am tired of the hand-in-glove relationships our veterans’ service organizations (VSOs) have established with Congress and the VA. Every year the VSOs go to Capitol Hill and grovel for next year’s VA budget handout. When the budget is passed and doesn’t meet their expectations, the VSOs politely thank the politicians for doing a good job and then politely urge them to do better.
Whatever happened to in-your-face, do-it-or-else political lobbying? We pay our VSO dues so they can represent us on Capitol Hill. They are failing in their mission. They allow politicians to ramble on about a promise to veterans and never ask the questions: What promise is that, politician? The one you never keep? And, the politicians keep playing us for fools. As long as veterans buy into the myth of a promise, the politicians win.
We, as veterans will continue to scrap and fight for our justly-deserved benefits. But, it’s time we adopt a new attitude. It’s time to stop accepting piecemeal legislation that gives a few budget dollars to slap a Band-Aid on a chronically-underfunded VA healthcare and benefits system. It’s time we stop accepting the nonsense of politicians who openly view VA benefits as charity, to be handed out only to those who fit their warped definition of the deserving. We owe it to all of our Brother and Sister veterans. And, let’s be honest, we owe it to ourselves. This is not the time to be humble.
It’s time for the in-your-face type of confrontation that our VSOs are incapable of providing. We must take our elected representatives to task and demand that they stop talking about a promise and actually give us one. We must tell Congress what we want. We must tell the American people what we want and that we earned our benefits through our service. Most “civilians” live under the assumption that “the VA takes care of it” when it comes to veterans’ benefits. It’s time they were educated. It’s time to stop asking and start telling. No more “Yes sir” and “No ma’am” and “Thank you very much” for what little we get. If we don’t force this issue, we can only blame ourselves.
The next time my Senator or Representative holds a town hall meeting in my area I’ll be there asking about the promise. I want them to tell me what the promise is and where I can find it in writing. They won’t be able to do that. But, maybe, just maybe, they’ll listen as I tell them it’s time to make a real promise and it’s time to really keep it. And, I’ll be wearing the T-shirt with this slogan printed in large letters:
WE ARE U.S. MILITARY VETERANS – YOU OWE US!
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