Merry?... um... Happy?... Veteran's Day?

How does one go about recognizing Veterans Day?  You can't just go up to some stranger on the street and say Happy Motherfucking Veteran's Day, Motherfucker.  You know, like you might do with Christmas.  You just can't do that with Veteran's Day.  


Henry loves how a calendar "holiday" like Veteran's Day is meant to make our government and many people feel better about the many fucked up and shitty ways the men and women that serve this mostly great country are treated when they come home.  Let's take for example the way the vets were treated during the Vietnam era.  First and foremost Henry needs to address the fact that many of the vets that came back from that clusterfuck did do some really bad things.  Henry has seen Casualties of War (the movie, not actual casualties).  Anyway, despite the actions of many, the good out-weighed the bad when it came to actual service.  There were many men and women that served this country very bravely and we should be indebted to them regardless of whether or not one agrees with the motives of that war or any war for that matter.  Instead of parades and celebrations veterans were spat on.  They were denied health care.  They were denied psychiatric care.  They were denied drug rehabilitation.  But at least we have Veteran's Day to make us all feel better.  We get to see the president and all of the other politicians pose for photo-ops which lead into stories on the news just before some talking head says "Happy Veteran's Day."


Now that America is locked in on two absolutely senseless wars, agree with Henry on that or not, our government continues to deny the very essential things that actually support those brave men and women.  According to (AFP) the number of US veterans that died in 2008 because a lack of healthcare was 14 percent higher than the casualties in the war in Afghanistan.  On paper, that may not strike someone as being that bad.  But really think about that.  Think about the situations that soldiers are thrust into.  Certainly Vietnam was a different story due to the fact that most of the soldiers were drafted.  But think about the soldiers that are fighting in the two wars that we are engaged in.  The shit that they go through is nothing like anything any civilian can imagine.  Then they come home (if they are lucky) after serving and they are denied healthcare.  They can't get a fucking job because there are no jobs.  They can't get psychological help because the VA is so fucking backed up that a vet would be lucky to even talk to a doctor on the phone.  But thank god we have Veteran's Day to makes us feel better, right?


Henry knows that he's a smart ass.  He knows that he's cynical and jaded.  But Henry knows the importance of supporting our troops and our vets.  Henry fucking hates war.  He hates those who take us into war.  He hates those who instigate war with us.  But the bottom line is, war in inevitable.  Well, the wars that we are fighting now could've been avoided had we not elected two complete fucking baboons in 2000.  But there will always be war and there will always be soldiers that fight for America's freedom and they deserve a lot more than one day out of the year to have the general public and the government to say thank you.  Click here, here, here, here, here and here for ways to help those that need it. 


Happy Motherfucking Veteran's Day, Motherfuckers!