John Campbell [R,CA-48], who served on the House Veterans Committee and should know better, demonstrated he knows little about veterans and cares less, when he justified his vote to cut veteran's benefits because, "Vets are doing fraud."
After 5 years of combat and the current "surge," our troops have been through a lot and have taken a beating. The care of our heros weighs heavily on the nation’s mind - witness the recent resignation of three top officials after the disclosure of the Walter Reed scandal. This lack-a-daisical attitude of those responsible for caring for our troops and veterans raises many questions concerning our representatives and senators' commitment to assuring proper care for our troops. One would think that the Republican legislators, who consistently vote 100% with Bush to keep our troops in harm’s way, would vociferously support our troops and veterans. Well, if you think this, you are wrong!
John Campbell [R, CA-48] holds "coffee chats" to "meet" with constituents and "answers" questions. On February 19, 2007, a mixed crowd of War Protesters and War Supporters surrounded Campbell. Campbell is not very good on his feet. Questions came from both sides and Campbell's answers were couched to appeal to his Republican base.
Jim Gibson, a member of Veterans for Peace, and one of the 44,641 veterans in the Ca-48, directly asked,
"Mr. Campbell why did you vote to cut veterans' benefits?"
Mr. Campbell answered,
"Because vets do fraud."
I have a question for Mr. Campbell, "Why do you think the veterans who gave their all for their country, would now defraud their country?"
Little does Mr. Campbell realize that concern with morality is pervasive among soldiers and veterans, is often uppermost in their minds, and can remain a fixation with them until death. The prospect of Veterans' fraud is an absolute incongruity.
Campbell did not explain what he meant by "fraud," but those knowledgeable in the area know this is Republican code for, "There is no such thing as PTSD." The VA continues to mis-classify PTSD as a stress and anxiety disorder, but still recognizes it. Those who don't want to understand, and want to continue to under-fund the VA by $3 billion, refuse to acknowledge PTSD and sweep injured Veterans out the doors of the VA, despite findings by people such as Richard Gabriel, a former Intelligence Officer in the Pentagon's Directorate of Foreign Intelligence and an expert on combat psychiatry, who believes, "War has simply become too stressful for even the strongest amoung us to stand for very long." [Gabriel, "No More Heros" p 88]
America does not reserve special roles for our veterans -- instead wanting them to function the same as they did before deployment. Denial fails to recognize that our vets have passed through a profound death-rebirth process and fails to provide supported recovery.
PTSD smites each with a constellation of identity challenges. These include fixated experiences, lack of impulse control, confused sexuality, drug and alcohol abuse, intimacy and employment problems, emotional explosiveness, mistrust of authority, alienation, delayed growth, devastated character, or interrupted initiation. The Campbell approach leaves our veterans to struggle alone, without a community to support their passage.
As a culture, we claim innocence. We act as though we are immune to the unavoidable truths that war teaches our veterans about pain and suffering. While we accuse Muslim extremists of fundamentalist terror in the name of their God, we believe and behave as if we ourselves are doing God's work in war. If that is our approach, should not our Veterans, God's instruments, be afforded the dignity and respect their service earned rather than insult and insinuation from a Republican congressman who could not get off the Veteran's Committee in Congress fast enough?