The War Comes Home

The War Comes Home: PTSD; Addiction; Homelessness and Suicide all Coming to a Neighborhood Near You!
Posted November 21, 2007 10:33 AM (EST)
There have been many stories about the vast majority of Americans being insulated from the fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan, and that only a small percentage of Americans--the families of those fighting overseas--are shouldering the brunt of these wars. We predict that In the next couple of years this will all change as the war comes marching into US communities from coast to coast. How? If history is indeed the great predictor, then we will soon find that the nightmare of war will show up at our doorsteps, not in the form of Al Qaeda, but in us dealing with the demons of our sons and daughters, brothers and sisters who have spent multiple tours in Iraq and Afghanistan.

CBS News dropped a bombshell last week when they reported on a 5 month investigation that found more veterans have killed themselves after returning from Iraq than have been killed in battle in Iraq. 100 returning soldiers a week, 5,000 a year are committing suicide, that is more soldiers that have died in Afghanistan and Iraq combined.
Let that sink in.

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For the people living with this, this is not a bombshell. This is life. For the people working to try to help these veterans coming back, this is not a bombshell. We saw all of this coming. No one heard us. We've been reporting on all of this coming. We heard the sounds of "bombs" falling all across America, in Canada, in England, Scotland, Australia, and on bases around the globe. We sounded the warnings from cities and towns around the world but the people with the power to take action had better things to hear. The PTSD wounded were still suffering in silence. All our work managed to do was give them courage to speak out about the wounds no one could see. The leaders of all the nations failed to open their eyes by opening their hearts.