Veterans Deserve Leaders, Not Bosses

It hasn't worked out.  Injured veterans of recent operations, most notably the war in Afghanistan, are measurably worst off than they would have been under the old system.  Particularly absurd was the notion that a young warrior, just returned from a theatre of war with grievous injuries and likely psychological trauma, could simply be handed a large sum of money, thus discharging the government's responsibility to them always and forever.  Many veterans with psychological trauma, after all, suffer from substance abuse or impulse control issues.  A one time cheque under such circumstances is almost an act of cruelty.

Someone might have told Team Harper it's dangerous to ignore our veterans.  Not that they'd listen; after all, when you see yourself as an empire, you delude yourself into thinking you get to make up the rules as you go.

I would love to see statistics on how many Afghan vets have had run-ins with the correctional system (or for that matter, vets at large).  I would not be surprised to see a disproportionate number, similar to what we see with other marginalized demographics.   There's this thing when you are trained for life-or-death situations, spend time in combat zones (or surrounded by the fallout of combat) where that becomes your norm.  It's like going from the race track to driving a suburban road with speed bumps - the dissonance takes a toll.

But even worse - and this is truly heartbreaking - soldiers are trained to serve the country, follow orders, and put the team first.  In other words, it's beaten in to their head to never stand up for their own rights.  Just as individual soldiers are able to perform their duties most effectively when they don't need to watch their own back, there is a tacit expectation that in giving their all for their country, their country will have their back in return.

The "every man for himself" ideological approach Team Harper is taking isn't only a betrayal of that trust, it's an approach that is scientifically proven not to work.  It drives me absolutely nuts that we have some of the world's most advanced neurological research going on in Canada and yet we constantly see policy that's grounded in abstract economic theory, if even that.

I could add all the regular links, but I grow tired of repeating the same lessons to people who can't motivate themselves to care beyond their own limited perspectives.  

Canada's soldiers deserve more than bosses.  It's time for some leadership.

Leadership is solving problems.  The day soldiers stop bringing you their problems is the day you have stopped leading them.  They have either lost confidence that you can help or concluded you do not care.  Either case is a failure of leadership.