Today started out so good but went right downhill after that

Today started out so good but went right downhill after that

by Chaplain Kathie

Today started out so good. The first article I read was about a Marine hitting a slot machine for $2.9 million dollars. What made this story even greater was the fact Cpl. Alexander Degenhardt had just agreed to donate bone marrow so that someone else could live. It went downhill right after that.

I opened an email with a comment on a blog post that needed approval. A child of one of these veterans, Group gives three veterans honor burials they deserve didn't think "Dad" deserved it. This broke my heart because it reminded me of the years growing up with my Dad, a Korean War veteran/alcoholic/abuser, until he stopped drinking when I was 13. By the grace of God he stopped and never touched another drop again. He tried to make up for all the harm he did but while I was able to forgive him, the rest of my family didn't. Maybe it's because of him that when I met my husband, I wanted to understand him and thus, opened the door to understand veterans with PTSD. Had I not been able to forgive my Dad, things would have been a lot different and I doubt very much I would have cared much about our veterans today.

When you consider that less than 10% of the population of America can call themselves a "veteran" most of the American people forget all about them and treat them just like anyone else, expecting them to be just like everyone else. How could they understand them if they never really knew any personally?

Well that takes me to this post about a WWII veteran, 86-year-old Aaron Brantley, beaten over his car while pumping gas and left with a broken leg by the carjacker. He had to crawl for help but everyone just got on with their own business, walking right past him. It's all on video for the world to see how little some people care.

Hope was lifted as I read about a Vietnam veteran, Rev. Bill Roscoe, moving mountains to help the homeless veterans but that good feeling soon eroded when I read about Fort Hood soldiers having to turn to food pantries to feed their families. It is not the first time I read about military families on food stamps and having to rely on donations to eat but I thought those days were long gone. Considering how the Republicans running for office keep talking about cutting the debt, you'd think only lazy people were looking for help. The last thing you'd think is that our troops are in need of it. After all, when the email came screaming with the headline about Obama cutting combat pay along with military pay, it never once mentioned that the pay is actually done by congress and not the president. Where is all the screaming about the fact these families ARE GOING HUNGRY?

This morning is one more reason why I avoid politics all together and have little use for the emails coming from both sides. All of them want to say they are right, patriotic, care about the troops and veterans, but when you get to the bottom line, it's easy to see that they have an agenda and it is not about what they pretend it is.

The media is another thorn in my side. I don't watch FOX and I don't watch MSNBC. CNN seemed to be more balanced when it came to reporting "news" but they have been more focused on what is happening in Syria than what is happening right here, right now. Tracking reports for this blog across the country, there are less and less reports coming from CNN about any of this. If they are not talking about the people wanting to be the next Commander-in-Chief, they are talking about other countries. I thought that was what CNN International was for?

When I go out to film local events there is one question on everyone's mind. They want to know why the media didn't show up. When I read over a hundred news reports a day, I wonder the same thing. These reports come from stations across the country but if you don't live there, you'd never know what the big story is.

If you get emails from friends saying they care about the troops and our veterans but never once mention anything you're reading on this blog, wonder how much they really do care if they don't know any of this.