Here.
There's a fascinating piece in today's New York Times on post-9/11 veterans going to college. It's at times heartbreaking to think about the difficulties faced by people returning from combat and trying to make their way in civilian life. I don't really have much analysis; mostly I'd say just read the article and think about it. Here's the lead:
Crowded classrooms routinely sent him into a panic. Cubicles triggered tunnel vision. He felt alienated from the 18-year-olds around him and their antics. His leg throbbed as he wandered the campus, trying to remember where to go. His concentration whipsawed and the words he read in textbooks slipped easily from his memory, the result of a mild traumatic brain injury.
And here's some of the body:
The legislation fueling the movement pays homage to the original G.I. Bill of Rights, which is considered one of the most successful and transformative government programs in history. It ultimately sent 2.2 million veterans to college after World War II and helped five million others acquire trade skills. Rather than come home to sell apples, as many neglected veterans did after World War I, these veterans helped broaden the middle class and democratize universities, which were primarily bastions of the wealthy and well connected.
Few would argue that the impact of the new G.I. Bill, formally the Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act, will rival that of its prototype, mostly because there are far fewer eligible veterans and the new law is less generous. The original bill paid for public, private and vocational education. This one covers public education for most veterans who served after 9/11 and eases the burden of private tuition. The law also extends many benefits to members of the National Guard and the Reserve, and offers stipends for housing and textbooks. But it does not pay for non-degree vocational training.
Still, the law is viewed both by veterans and colleges as an opportunity to do right by today’s combat-tested troops and mend a relationship that has badly frayed since the antiwar movement of the 1960s. The hope is that new veterans, buffeted by war and a troubled economy, can seize on college as a roadmap to a productive life beyond the military.
I don't want to get too partisan, but I will say that I find it insane that Democrats are considered "anti-Military" in some circles. This is especially insane if you consider this:
Mr. Rieckhoff’s group spearheaded efforts to pass the bill, written by Senator Jim Webb, a Virginia Democrat and Marine Corps veteran. The bill met strong resistance from John McCain, the senator from Arizona who is now the Republican candidate for president, and from President Bush, who argued that it would prompt service members to choose college over re-enlistment after just three years. But ultimately, it passed handily and was signed into law on June 30.
That's right. The argument against the bill was that--gasp!--veterans might actually take advantage of it!
Look, it doesn't matter if I disagree or agree with the wars we fight. The troops are America's, not the neo-cons, not the Republicans, they are all of ours. We have a responsibility to them. I'm glad the new G.I. Bill passed, and I hope that its only the beginning of our continued support for veterans.
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