Newsweek's Anna Quindlen, who is always a refreshing voice of reason in this ever so polarized country, wrote an article titled, "Scrap Metal, Not Soldiers," in which she had this to say...
"In the lickety-split fashion of our times, there's already a TV drama about the Iraq war called 'Over There.' It aired just as an independent panel reported that planning for postwar Iraq was inadequate. So is planning for postwar America, over here. Two months ago the secretary of the VA went to a House committee, hat in hand, because the agency had so grossly underestimated the number of veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan needing medical services that he found himself $1 billion short of necessary funding. Never mind the yellow-ribbon magnets; patriotism is an empty, dumb show if it doesn't include adequate health care, a living wage and decent shelter for people who laid down their lives."
It's a shame that our politicians can afford to start wars, but can't afford to take care of the people who actually do the fighting.
(the above referenced article appears in the August 8, 2005 issue of Newsweek.)
No comments:
Post a Comment