Buried soldiers, dead and alive

The Liberals came short in supporting veterans and their families, and the harper regime has refined this failure into something you would attribute to the most heartless, opportunistic villain in films.

The harper government loves dead soldiers.  They don’t mind talking about the sacrifice of living ones either, but only in the vaguest, most euphemistic of terms

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The Ottawa Citizen doesn’t help as it chooses to misinterpret the famous Flanders Field poem:

 “If ye break faith with us who die,” wrote Lt.-Col. John McCrae, “We shall not sleep.”

Starting today and continuing well into the next decade, the Citizen will keep this ancient faith through the modern channel of social media.  Beginning at 11 minutes after 11 a.m. today, the Twitter account “WeAreTheDead” will begin reciting the names of Canada’s war dead, one each hour of every day...Ottawa Citizen managing editor Andrew Potter says inspiration for the silent memorial comes from McCrae’s call to remember forever those who fought for us, not just on Nov. 11.

Well, that’s not at all what the poem says -

Take up our quarrel with the foe

To you, from failing hands, we throw

The torch: be yours to hold it high

If ye break faith with us who die,

We shall not sleep, though poppies grow

In Flanders fields

In the poem, the dead aren’t asking us to keep faith by remembering them, but to keep faith by continuing the fight against the foe.   What would McCrae have considered the foe?  Most likely anyone or anything that threatened our country, our way of life, our values here and abroad.

So much easier to praise the dead, though.  So much safer.  Controlled grieving with no big cost.

The harper government takes this to near necromaniac dimensions as it romanticises dead soldiers.

Today, the Honourable Steven Blaney, Minister of Veterans Affairs, announced up to $28,715 in federal government support for a project in North York, Ontario to honour Veterans and those who made the ultimate sacrifice. Minister Blaney was joined by Mark Adler, Member of Parliament for York Centre. This funding, provided through the Community War Memorial program, will go to support the construction of the new Jewish War Veterans of Canada Memorial. 

How nice.  Another memorial to dead soldiers.  Jewish ones, this time.  Nearly 29 million dollars of love.

"It is gratifying to know that younger generations have a special place like the Jewish War Veterans of Canada Memorial to reflect on our country's proud military history." 

Reflecting on Canada’s military history is pretty high with harper’s reshaping of the Canadian psyche.  Reflect on it, but only at a safe, sterile distance.  No journalists at the re-patriation of the dead, no talk about injuries, no embarrassing photo shoots with seriously maimed soldiers.

Just the glory of war, the glorious sacrifice, the super cool uniforms, gear, and vehicles.  And lots of monuments and gestures as backdrops and to give the illusion that the government actually cares about vets.

...Through the Community War Memorial Program, our Government is fulfilling its commitment to further commemorate the courage and sacrifices of our Veterans and members of our armed forces by bringing individuals, groups and businesses together to build new cenotaphs and monuments. 

Because cenotaphs and monuments are what veterans need right now, what they are pleading for.  Oh, and virtual remembrances because that virtual world of the Internet is so, so much more intimate and our veterans really need to be included in social networking.

Every couple of seconds, a vibrant red poppy blooms in a virtual field of an interactive website, as words of hope, gratitude and pride flood in from across Canada.  Veterans Affairs Canada has set up a website, coinciding with Veteran's Week, to let individuals share their messages for veterans ahead of Remembrance Day.

Not that I think monuments and interactive websites with poppy fields have no value and aren’t appreciated by veterans and their families, but when our government offers these to create the illusion that something is actually being done to make the lives of veterans better and to pass on that torch they suffered or died for, that’s obscene.

The obscenity of it hit particularly hard this autumn as cuts to Veterans’ Affairs were announced.  To really shove that precious torch into filth, the harper government used slimy tactics to avoid one of our most important principles in a democracy: transparency.

After being forced to modify a committee’s agenda to include explaining the cuts, the harper government found a way to hold the meetings behind closed doors, preventing anyone on the committee from talking about what they discussed.

 

When the public was allowed back into the committee room at a Thursday meeting, the discussion had returned to the topic of commemorative gestures. What went on while the committee was in camera is a secret but it is apparent that the Conservatives used their majority to refocus the discussion on their preferred topic.

Sure.  Commemorative gestures is something the CONs would rather spend their time and our money on than actually helping those living veterans and their families who sacrificed so much for others.

The CONs are outraged about vandalism done to war memorials.

"I was appalled and saddened when I heard of the vandalism of the war memorial at Malvern Collegiate," Veterans Affairs Minister Steven Blaney said in a statement. "Our cenotaphs and monuments are powerful reminders of the sacrifices that generations of Canadians have made for the peace and freedom we enjoy today."  Blaney said he was backing a private member's bill that would impose stiffer penalties against those who vandalize property, cenotaphs and war memorials that honour Canadians who died as a consequence of war. 

You know what else are reminders of their sacrifices, Blaney?  Maimed and traumatized soldiers, devastated family members, all still alive and in need.

The government fails to acknowledge the needs of veterans or to show much willingness to treat them fairly, honourably, and decently upon their return from serving in whatever hell they were sent to.

We often hear that soldiers never complain, as though that’s a virtue which likely discourages them from speaking out.  The treatment of veterans has become so appalling however, that they are becoming more vocal, more angry as well they should.

Many veterans who were injured in the Afghan conflict, fighting for a war they believed in, returned home to discover that the disability payments they'll receive are nothing like what vets of other conflicts have enjoyed.  Even those who have returned unscathed are angry that their military retirement pensions are now being taxed, clawed back and terminated when they reach age 65.  And then there are those who are concerned that planned cuts to the budget at Veterans Affairs Canada are only going to worsen the problem.

Many blame the New Veterans Charter for starting the trouble. The Charter came into effect in 2006 and created a pension system that some vets have called "a national disgrace."

So what should be done to honour our living veterans and keep faith with the dead ones?

 “As a nation, we have the obligation to take care of the men and women that were put in harm's way to protect our rights and freedoms,” Guy Parent (, the veterans’ ombudsman ) wrote in an open letter to Canadians on Wednesday. “Ensuring that their needs are met is the nation's greatest and most meaningful expression of gratitude.”

 

Canadian Veterans Advocacy president Michael Blais speaks at a rally protesting the cuts to Veterans Affairs on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Saturday, Nov. 5, 2011.

We should also praise and encourage those veterans and soldiers who have the courage to speak up, to bring to light the poor treatment of soldiers and veterans.  People like Pat Stogran and Romeo Dallaire, like Pascal Lacoste and Louise Richard,, like John Labelle, and Gary Zwicker,like Dennis Manuge, and Sean Bruyea , and Dawson MacDonald and Eric Rebiere

My gratitude for those who fought for our freedoms and for those who sign on to defend our country is measureless.  That is why I am not content with monuments to the dead or symbolic gestures.

We owe these people and must not bury the living because we find them too expensive to care for or their injuries too painful to look at in the naked light.

Harper just keeps supporting those troops, past and present!

OH look! A Canadian flag at half-mast!  At a CF base!  Quick, grab my photo team!  Round me up some cool tanks and shit for the background.  Roust up some old foggie vet...and don't, for chrissake, forget the damn poppies this time!

Oh...forget it, it's Gagetown.

The Harper government has returned more than $33 million set aside to compensate veterans exposed to the defoliant Agent Orange to government coffers after many veterans failed to meet its strict qualifications for payments. Liberal Senator Percy Downe said the veterans didn't qualify because compensation was narrowly limited to those affected by the chemical spraying at Canadian Forces Base Gagetown between 1966 and 1967.

Right, and even those vets didn't get compensation until they had to take their own government to court for it.

Downe said what concerned him is that the money wasn't returned to Veterans Affairs or used to fund assistance for Canadian veterans and their families as was originally intended when the money was set aside.At the same time, the government has spent nearly $8 million in legal fees fighting those veterans who have launched a lawsuit over the highly restrictive qualifications.

"It would seem that instead of assisting veterans, the unspent $33 million is being used to fight them in court," said Downe.

Well, Flaherty has been telling us we all need to tighten our belts.  Harper's defence funds have to come from somewhere.  Gotta keep extra in that kitty as well, never know what special interest group or fringe group may outrageously take him to court over trivial things like broken promises or human rights.

And there are all those ads to promote oil fields that need funding!  And someone has to pay for those Don Cherry Hearts Fantino appearances!  And...and...ADSCAM!!!!  Surely you haven't forgotten ADSCAM??!!!

Oh yeah...support the troops...and stuff...

"You must glorify war in order to get the public to accept the fact that your going to send their sons and daughters to die."

Or to be maimed, broken, and traumatized.

It is a real condemnation of our society that our government knows we are less likely to oppose military missions if all we are exposed to are flag draped coffins and death notices showing a photo of the soldiers looking fresh and proud in uniform before their service ripped them and their families to shreds.

It is disgusting and a betrayal of our troops on the part of a government to play down and even hide the ravages of war away from sight like a dirty secret.  Yet, this is what our government does so that it can continue to glorify war and minimize some of the resulting costs.  War makes money...for some well situated suppliers.  It provides a constant distraction for governments who want to appeal to blind patriotism as a means of diverting attention from their own screw-ups and violations of the trust given them through the vote.  It offers great photo ops for those man’s-men who want to wear the sacrifices and courage of others as though they themselves embody such qualities.

But wounded soldiers...dead bodies...hell no!  Let’s talk about sacrifice but never, ever look too closely at the raw nature of those sacrifices because citizens may decide they are too much to ask of our troops, and we may pressure our government to actually take care of those who return needing support after having voluntarily placed themselves in harm’s way for others.

"I was told by a senior Treasury Board analyst, who shall remain nameless, that it is in the government’s best interest to have soldiers killed overseas rather than wounded because the liability is shorter term," (Stogran) told a marathon Ottawa news conference.       

So we allow our government to shove the wounded and damaged soldiers out of sight and deny them benefits and essential care.  We let the government get away with saying that’s what the soldiers and their families want - privacy in their grief.

Bull-shit.  They have been making their wishes abundantly clear this week.

"We mention those who gave their lives ... but there are many more with both visible and invisible wounds," said organizer Mike Blais, who served in the Royal Canadian Regiment for 17 years. "These wounds tear families and lives apart."

These visible and invisible wounds need to be publicly acknowledged, and those affected must receive the care and benefits we like to believe, in our sanitized view of war, they are receiving.

I despise the Harper government for feeding of the image of our troops while hiding them away when it could embarrass them, cost them money, or affect public opinion.  But if we turn our eyes and ears away from the accounts of torn flesh and spirit because it makes us too uncomfortable or guilt stricken to look at without a happy lens, then we allow these bastards to treat our soldiers like commodities - to flaunt them when they look good, and tuck them away in some dark, smelly basement when they tweak our conscience.

Support our troops.  Look at the cost they pay.  Really look at it.  Then make sure our government supports them after they come home.  And make sure you understand the nature of a mission they are being sent on and tell your government you don’t want the troops you so strongly support being ravaged or killed on missions that are not absolutely critical to saving lives and actively promoting the overall betterment of our species.