Veterans Day behind us, not need to pay attention

The flags and flowers are fading from Veterans Day 2021, the first since America’s 20-year odyssey in Afghanistan ended.

We all saw those final days in Kabul, a heartbreaking spasm of violence, courage, grit and humanity. The truth for the brave women and men on the ground during those frenzied weeks was likely much worse than what we saw on our televisions or cellphones.

Recall the images of the thousands swarming the gates at Hamid Karzai International Airport, the faces of the 13 Americans killed in the Abbey Gate bombing and the fuzzy green night vision of the last general boarding the plane.

A thought that comes to mind is “if only they weren’t there in the first place.”

And then, these words from my friend Brian Turner, a U.S. soldier poet.

The poem’s title, “Sadiq,” is Arabic for friend or honesty.

Sadiq

It is a condition of wisdom in the archer to be patient because when the arrow leaves the bow, it returns no more.

Sa’di (a 13th-century Persian poet)

It should make you shake and sweat,

nightmare you, strand you in a desert

of irrevocable desolation, the consequences

seared into the vein, no matter what adrenaline

feeds the muscle its courage, no matter

what god shines down on you, no matter what crackling pain and anger you carry in your fists, my friend,

it should break your heart to kill.

Only two months later, and Afghanistan seems so far away. Call it collective indifference. The phenomenon is no surprise, and there are many reasons for it — both intentional and not.

Consider the civil-military divide, and the fact that less than 1 percent of our nation serves in the armed forces, is a veteran or a dependent family member of someone serving. There are 1.35 million serving today, 2.6 million dependent family members of those serving and 19 million veterans. The U.S. population is roughly 333 million.

With fewer military ties to communities, it’s easier to look away, and in many ways, society lost interest in the Middle East conflicts years ago.

The government blames the media for a lack of — or inaccurate — reporting. The media blame the government for poor access and transparency. The truth is somewhere in the middle.

Either way, as the conflicts wore on, the volume went down on the news coming from Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria.

The most recent example occurred around the time of the departure from Afghanistan when the Defense Department purged the content produced between 1994-2014 from its primary website, Defense.gov. It’s also veiled 140,000 images and videos from the Defense Visual Information Distribution Service, or DVIDS, to protect Afghan allies.

If DOD is suppressing previously publicly released info, one can imagine how many records are overclassified and won’t become public for years.

Then there’s our nation’s short attention span and a quick-moving news cycle. Add to that the relentless and toxic political rhetoric, cutthroat partisanship and growing extremism that dominate our country’s dialogue.

Perspective comes with distance, and in the aftermath of the Kabul airlift the reality that the U.S.’s small wars have largely ended is starting to feel real.

But don’t forget Afghanistan and Iraq have come back to the U.S. with those who served there. It’s not good or bad, but a fact, just as it was for those who served in Desert Storm, Vietnam, Korea, World War II and our country’s countless other conflicts and skirmishes throughout history.

These places live in memories regardless of the individual’s experience.

For some, the impacts — physical, mental, spiritual, emotional, moral or some combination — can reverberate through families for generations. And these costs aren’t limited to those who’ve served in conflict zones.

While the armed services continue to develop respectful and inclusive cultures and programs to enhance military and family members’ health, resiliency and wellness, there’s always more to be done.

Supporting veterans, those still serving and their families, is more than “thank you for your service” and discounts. It’s a need for less valorization, more empathy and an effort to meet people where they are in life. Part of that is paying attention, demanding government accountability and doing everything possible to avoid sending young people to war.

In a perfect world, there would be less conflict or need for vast militaries. On future Veterans Days, in a perfect world, there would be fewer and fewer veterans to celebrate.

Turner