OAS Founder Editorial: Bumper Sticker Patriotism Only Helps the Seller
Lazy patriotism, the kind that thinks that slapping a pro-soldier bumper sticker on your car can substitute for real action, needs to stop. The shiny object strategy that is the whole “Support Our Troops” slogan started under the Bush Administration during Desert Shield/Storm. It has since been the foundation that Sunday morning guests hang their hat on, while at the same time, serving as a pitfall that the American people – and their sons and daughters of soldier suicide and veteran suicide – fall into like lemmings. The Greatest Generation earned that title through patriotism and the Boomers have trashed it.
During WWII, Americans showed their support for the troops in amazing ways that would never be duplicated today:
- Housing a returning Veteran
- Collecting meat fats in metal cans and taking it to your butcher
- Food and gas rationing
- Giving blood
- Buying War Bonds
- Sharing your car with neighbors
- The daily/weekly body counts
Can you imagine even one of those things happening today? We have sunk so deep into our couches and Facebook likes that we can’t see how far down our patriotism has fallen. Disagree? Prove me wrong in the comment section below, or better yet, go here and make a difference for our families.
The Cost of Bumper Sticker Patriotism
Forget about the political or economic reason we are sending troops into battle. Forget about the 17 veteran suicides a day that statistics have proven will result. Forget about the 17 veteran families that will be left with a hole in their hearts. Forget about the sub-standard VA care these men and women suffer before they kill themselves. Support our Troops really means support the politicians who – right or wrong – need your vote next election day.
ABOUT ONCE A SOLDIER
Our Veterans are killing themselves in record numbers mostly due to PTSD. An overmatched VA can’t take care of them or their families. We will.
Soldier suicide leaves Veteran families with thousands of dollars of bills unpaid, mostly bank loans.
We are the only nonprofit standing with the families after a veteran suicide. Stand with us.
Our Mission: Become the preferred channel for donors, advocates and volunteers who care about veteran families left behind after a soldier suicide.
