McWounded: John McCain and PTSD

McWounded: John McCain and PTSD

In the first Presidential debate, Senator John McCain exhibited an emotionally flat "shutdown" response when he did not appear irritable and cross. He refused to make eye contact with Obama, favored grandstanding over dialogue, and stated that he would refuse to come to the table with world leaders who don't agree with him. If in place of the Paris Peace Talks, Henry Kissinger, McCain's hero, had displayed similar attitudes back in the 1970's, we might still be in Vietnam.

McCain's posturing has a mothball whiff, like the contents of a time capsule from the 1950's. But before we renew our subscription to that particular brand of leadership and heroism, let's take a closer look.

Back in the 1950's, children of the Great Generation fathers found their Dads to be cold, angry, unknowable, and/or out-of-touch. What we didn't know then but do know now is that in the aftermath of World War II, many brave men who saw intense action came back from the war to start families still suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) --a then-misunderstood illness that will endure life-long if left untreated. A hair-trigger temper, impulsive behavior, numbed emotions, disassociated responses, and flat expression are all hallmarks of this real disease.

The person's original traumatic experience (and their neurological response to it) become hardwired into the body, causing ongoing deterioration in key areas of the brain. In PTSD, to protect itself from the external dangers, the body will neurologically freeze or over-activate or both, releasing a cascade of neurochemicals and hormones that shut down many normal responses and functions for the sake of survival. Once the dangers pass, the responses still continue permanently.
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I don't know if McCain has PTSD or not but he does show there is a possibility he has it. 100% of people who have been tortured develop PTSD, at different levels, so it is very possible he does have it, but that is not the most troubling thing about McCain to me. The most troubling fact, what I know for sure, is that McCain was tortured, but ended up approving of Bush torturing detainees under what he called anything but out and out torture. It was clear this was being done and now, McCain admitted it was being done in the debate with Obama, then added that he didn't approve of it.

McCain said he supports veterans, but has not been on the Senate Veterans Committee and in fact, voted against veterans funding bills for most of his career. Service organizations give McCain a failing grade when it comes to what veterans need and real support.

McCain voted against the dwell time between deployments all experts said was needed for the sake of the troops. Yet again, McCain put his views ahead of the troops and what they needed.

McCain loves to remind people he is a veteran but is never reminded of the fact he was supported by tax payer funds to go to college and was treated for his wounds along with collecting a disability check every month. Checks and treatment he can count on but others can't.

These are the things I find more troubling about McCain than the conclusion most people are making about his mental fitness to head this nation.