Poor Treatment of Veterans

Poor Treatment of Veterans

Last week, I wrote about Time Management and the sense of responsibility that people should feel when they are expected to do something or be somewhere at a certain time. I could very well write a whole other blog entry about responsibility, especially after this past week, but instead I am going to continue discussing the matter of my father’s caretakers. Last week, Home Instead took three hours to replace Saturday’s caretaker. Meanwhile, because I had promised my son that I would take him to see Black Panther, my daughter Lauren had to watch him for those three hours and she does not feel the same sense of duty to actually take care of him that caretakers do. This week, they sent a brand new, young, inexperienced caretaker.

I am not sure what happened to his regular Saturday caretaker whom he has had for a very long time, but now he is yet again faced with having a new caretaker and I am once again faced with having to train a new caretaker. If places like Home Instead cared about their clients, they would not put them through this frustration. Yet, here we are. I have to explain to yet another person how particular and difficult my father is and that even though she considers his water cup to be full, to fill it anyway without arguing with him that it is already full. This was his chief complaint to everyone who stepped foot in the house from that moment forward. Places like Home Instead give preferential treatment to customers who are paying out of pocket for their services. Veterans like my father, whose services are largely paid by the Veteran’s Administration, are treated like second-class consumers, almost like the difference between flying first class and flying coach. In my opinion, they should be treated the same, not different.

A few years ago, my father was hospitalized at the VA Hospital before being moved to another facility to rehabilitate. I noticed several things about this VA Hospital. First, the parking sucks. There is inadequate parking available for the number of visitors who come to this hospital. There is inadequate handicapped parking considering that this is a hospital which services veterans, who might likely also be disabled. There are stairs, curbs, hills and uneven ground leading up to the hospital which make it difficult for disabled and elderly patrons and visitors to navigate. On one occasion, my mother (now deceased) fell and got hurt trying to get back to my car after visiting her husband. They are severely understaffed, which means that visitors like myself who are lost and don’t know where to go can’t find anyone to help them and persons who are in the hospital often have long waits before their needs are met. The bathroom was disgusting. Veterans should not be treated like this when they need help.

Several years ago, I worked as a volunteer for a non-profit organization which helped veterans, disabled and elderly people. It was then that I began to see the ways in which veterans, disabled, and elderly persons are mistreated and often taken advantage of. Not much has changed. I still see multiple ways in which society as a whole, and individual business could improve the way in which they serve customers who are elderly or disabled. For example, the Bank of America branch that my father frequents has its handicapped entrance on the other side of the bank from where the parking lot is. Meanwhile, the entrance nearest the parking lot has stairs leading into the bank. On what planet does this even make sense? Why should someone have to travel that distance just to enter the bank?

We need to do better. Veterans served in our military. They fought for our country and for the freedom of people they have never even met. They sacrificed time with their families in order to fight for our country and some of them made the ultimate sacrifice. They sacrificed their sanity and their well-being to serve. We may not always agree with what they are fighting for, or who they are fighting against, but we have to keep a few things in mind about them nonetheless. I too am a conscientious objector. I don’t like that war is sometimes a necessary evil. However, it is exactly that sometimes; a necessary evil. Some of these veterans fought in wars that were truly part of our American history and without their contribution, we would not have the freedoms we have today. Others served because they believed it was the right thing to do. Perhaps their parents or families have served and they wanted to be part of that tradition. Perhaps they were trying to get money for school. Perhaps they were just trying to figure out their place in the world. It is really not up to us to determine the morality or ethics of their choice. Their choice cost them time with their friends and family. Sometimes their choice costs them their health and sanity. Other times, it costs them their lives. Veterans exhibit bravery and with the exception of a few, honor. They deserve some respect, not verbal tirades from misinformed and opinionated teachers who feel that the belittling of a student is above the education of that same student. They deserve respect, not impossible red tape, diminished benefits, and terrible treatment by VA hospitals and caretaker agencies. They deserve better.