A "comforting cultural narrative" for life failure

Look, Ma! The totally awesome Jules Crittenden of forward movement --  a Boston Herald city editor and columnist and Pajamas Media Network blogger extraordinaire -- links to our Sid Blumenthal post with a pithy "Ha."

"Our war dead are called a waste by those who would lead us," writes Jules Crittenden at Pajamas Media in a deep, dark and delicious dissection of CBS's "great gotcha" series alleging a "suicide epidemic among veterans." When we first heard of the suicide "report" during a TV "news alert" the other day, our gut told us something wasn't quite right about it: Now that the surge was showing positive results in Iraq, anti-Bush types were casting their nets for false-but-accurate "facts" on other fronts -- in this case the home front -- to discredit the President and the war effort. What joy, then, to find a jewel like Jules, a former embed who's been there and done that and has the sources and resources to ferret out the facts, ma'am, just the facts. Unlike his CBS counterparts who have all the answers, he ends up with more questions than answers. We'll quote a few tasty tidbits and then urge you to treat yourself to the whole thing. His assessment is -- pardon our French -- nuanced and deserves a full hearing:

Our returning soldiers are viewed as damaged goods, their accomplishments ignored. The holidays we dedicate to them have long been excuses for trips to the beach and the mall, ignored by the vast majority of our population. The dire threats to world peace our soldiers have combated, from communists to Muslim terrorists and would-be nuclear despots, are fabricated excuses to seize oil supplies, drive up corporate profits and undermine constitutional freedoms. War, even when it might be justified, produces unacceptable tragedy and debases us. Patriotic display is disconcerting. Our children are not encouraged to develop the strength and courage of warriors, are discouraged from playing at war, and efforts are made to keep recruiters away from them . . .

CBS, for whom Edward R. Murrow once broadcast from the rooftops of London, inspiring Americans who would soon find themselves called to war, posits a GI suicide epidemic. This is not CBS reporting on a scholarly study. It is CBS conducting its own study. Not surprisingly, while it makes a great gotcha, it is somewhat limited in its scope, and questionable in its findings . . .

The predominant storyline of war in our time has not been one of volunteers struggling and triumphing over adversity. It has been about victimhood, quagmires and failure. Whether the facts fit the description or not.

The postmodern, post-Vietnam cult of "victimhood, quagmires and failures" may be a culprit in "an apparent rise in disability claims for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)" in recent years, according to a Psychiatric News article cited by Crittenden:

The controversy arose as payments for PTSD disability-benefit claims increased from $1.7 billion in 1999 to $4.3 billion last year [2005], disbursed to 215,871 veterans. The rise is due less to current warfare in Afghanistan and Iraq than to Vietnam-era veterans. The VA wants to know whether there are really more cases of PTSD developing now, 30 years after the end of the Vietnam War, or if some veterans are exaggerating symptoms to claim up to $2,300 a month in disability payments.

Sally Satel, M.D., a psychiatrist affiliated with the American Enterprise Institute who was interviewed for the article, suggests the insidiousness and unforeseen consequences of the anti-war narrative that has haunted the national psyche since Walter Cronkite signaled defeat on the eve of victory in 1968:

The current increase in disability claims may be due to chronic PTSD that has existed since the war or to delayed presentation after earlier symptoms, she said, but PTSD may also serve as a "comforting cultural narrative" for life failure, induced by a "victim culture," or a crutch for "folks who need a retirement plan."

A far cry from the days when, in Crittenden's words, "To be a battle-tested warrior [was] considered a necessary right of passage for men":

To accomplish something in battle, to exert leadership and demonstrate courage, was to stand as an example. Songs would be sung about such a man. There are still some vestiges of that. But the inspirational tales of great warriors are replaced by cautionary tales of victimhood.

"And all that’s left of Daddy is a name on some memorial."

Comments

[goomp]

A world that admires dreams of rule by talk and accomplishes nothing is the legacy which the liberals would bequeath us.

[Teresa]

You have to love the CBS liberal spin on everything. I just ignore them and get my military news from Blackfive, Mike Yon, the Long War Journal, the Mudville Gazette, and other wonderful blogs - who have real military connections and know what is going on.

As for the PTSD, why are people surprised that Vietnam Vets (who have been shunned and ignored for all these years) might actually turn up to make a claim for help that has been denied to them for so long? They got zero help in this area because back in the day they were told to "suck it up" and "act like a man". Thus you have Vets who ended up as alcoholics (like my Uncle from WW2) and homeless because they weren't able to do this.

Oh, and I suppose the intervening years, where diagnosis and treatment has advanced to the point where these Vets might actually have a chance to get some useful help... well - we have to question that too.

PTSD - has been an issue with the military as long as there has been a military. These soldiers deserve help when they have given so very much for the rest of us.

Yes, I am quite sure there are a number who "game" the system - as there are in any system. But the Vets who need this help that has never before been available - deserve every bit of it. If the gamers are caught - good - if not - well, it's the price we end up paying to get help to those who need it. Especially since those who need it gave everything for us.