"I love America more than any other country in this world, and, exactly for this reason, I insist on the right to criticize her perpetually."--James A. Baldwin
Just in time for Memorial Day, we're being treated to a generous serving of praise and grandstanding by politicians, corporations, and others with similarly self-serving motives eager to go on record as being pro-military. Patriotic platitudes aside, however, America has done a deplorable job of caring for her veterans. We erect monuments for those who die while serving in the military, yet for those who return home, there's little honor to be found.
Despite the fact that the U.S. boasts more than 23 million veterans who have served in World War II through Korea, Vietnam, the Gulf War, Iraq, and Afghanistan, the plight of veterans today, while often overlooked, is common knowledge: impoverished, unemployed, lacking any decent health benefits, homeless, traumatized mentally and physically, struggling with depression, thoughts of suicide, marital stress.
Making matters worse, thanks to Operation Vigilant Eagle, a program launched by the Department of Homeland Security in 2009, military veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan are also being characterized as extremists and potential domestic terrorist threats because they may be "disgruntled, disillusioned or suffering from the psychological effects of war." As a result, these servicemen and women--many of whom are decorated--are finding themselves under surveillance, threatened with incarceration or involuntary commitment, or arrested, all for daring to voice their concerns about the alarming state of our union and the erosion of our freedoms.
An important point to consider, however, is that the government is not merely targeting individuals who are voicing their discontent so much as it is locking up individuals trained in military warfare who are voicing feelings of discontent. Under the guise of mental-health treatment and with the complicity of government psychiatrists and law-enforcement officials, these veterans are increasingly being portrayed as ticking time bombs in need of intervention. In 2012, for instance, the Justice Department launched a pilot program aimed at training SWAT teams to deal with confrontations involving highly trained and often heavily armed combat veterans.
In
the four years since the start of Operation Vigilant Eagle, the government has
steadily ramped up its campaign to "silence" dissidents, especially those with
military backgrounds. Coupled with the DHS' dual reports on Rightwing and
Leftwing "Extremism," which broadly define extremists as individuals and groups
"that are mainly antigovernment, rejecting federal authority in favor of state
or local authority, or rejecting government authority entirely," these tactics have
boded ill for anyone seen as opposing the government.
One
particularly troubling mental-health label being applied to veterans and others
who challenge the status quo is "oppositional-defiance disorder" (ODD). As
journalist Anthony Martin explains, an ODD diagnosis
denotes that the person exhibits "symptoms" such as the questioning of authority, the refusal to follow directions, stubbornness, the unwillingness to go along with the crowd, and the practice of disobeying or ignoring orders. Persons may also receive such a label if they are considered free thinkers, nonconformists, or individuals who are suspicious of large, centralized government. At one time the accepted protocol among mental-health professionals was to reserve the diagnosis of oppositional- defiance disorder for children or adolescents who exhibited uncontrollable defiance toward their parents and teachers.
The case of 26-year-old decorated Marine Brandon Raub--who was targeted because of his Facebook posts, interrogated by government agents about his views on government corruption, arrested with no warning, labeled mentally ill for subscribing to so-called "conspiratorial" views about the government, detained against his will in a psych ward for standing by his views, and isolated from his family, friends, and attorneys--is a prime example of the government's war on veterans.
Raub's
case exposes the seedy underbelly of a governmental system that is targeting
Americans--especially military veterans--for expressing their discontent over
America's rapid transition to a police state.
On Thursday, August 16, 2012, a swarm of local police, S ecret Service, and FBI agents arrived at Raub's home, asking to speak with him about posts he had made on his Facebook page made up of song lyrics, political opinions, and dialogue used in a political thriller virtual card game. Among the posts cited as troublesome were lyrics to a song by the rap group Swollen Members and Raub's views, shared increasingly by a number of Americans, that the 9/11 terrorist attacks were an inside job.
After
a brief conversation and without providing any explanation, levying any charges
against Raub or reading him his rights, law-enforcement officials then
handcuffed Raub and transported him first to the police headquarters, then to a
medical center, where he was held against his will due to alleged concerns that
his Facebook posts were "terrorist in nature." Outraged onlookers filmed the
arrest and posted the footage to YouTube, where it quickly went viral.
Meanwhile, The Rutherford Institute came to Raub's assistance, which, combined
with heightened media attention, may have helped prevent Raub from being
successfully "disappeared" by the government.
In
a hearing on August 20, government officials pointed to Raub's Facebook posts
as the sole reason for their concern and for his continued incarceration.
Ignoring Raub's explanations about the fact that the Facebook posts were being
read out of context, Raub was sentenced to up to 30 days' further confinement
in a psychiatric ward. While in the psych ward, Raub reported being interrogated
by medical staff about his views about the government and threatened by a
doctor with brainwashing. Raub's legal team, provided by The Rutherford
Institute, immediately began petitioning the courts for his release.
On
August 23, Circuit Court Judge Allan Sharrett declared the government's case to
be lacking in factual allegations and ordered Raub immediately released.
However, for the tens of thousands of individuals detained--wrongfully or
otherwise--under civil commitment laws every year, regaining their freedom is
nearly impossible, predicated as it is on a bureaucratic legal and judicial
system.
Within
days of Raub being seized at his Virginia home on August 16, 2012, and forcibly
held in a VA psych ward, news reports started surfacing of other veterans having
similar experiences.
That
the government is using the charge of mental illness as the means by which to
immobilize (and disarm) these veterans is diabolically brilliant. With one
stroke of a magistrate's pen, these service men are being declared mentally
ill, locked away against their will, and stripped of their constitutional
rights. Make no mistake, these returning veterans are being positioned as enemy
number one.
Given
the government's increasing view of veterans as potential domestic terrorists,
it makes one think twice about a new Michigan law that adds a veterans
designation on Michigan driver's licenses and state IDs. Hailed by politicians
as a way to "make it easier for military veterans to access discounts from
retailers, restaurants, hotels, and vendors across the state," it will also make
it that much easier for the government to identify and target veterans who dare
to challenge the status quo.
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