Thursday, March 28, 2024

Caring for veterans worthy cause

April 17, 2012
	<p>Joyce</p>

Joyce

Photo by Justin Wan | and Justin Wan The State News

Editor’s Note: Views expressed in guest columns and letters to the editor reflect the views of the author, not the views of The State News.

Looking back on many of my articles, I find I have been giving off a very cynical and pessimistic vibe. I suppose I should clarify that I am not really as negative as I seem in my writing, although I have found the best way to stir up a conversation is by writing about controversial topics that often take on a less than optimistic tone. This week, because this is my last article of the year, I thought I’d reflect on what we have to be thankful for, rather than what we do not.

Headlining here in East Lansing are stories such as safety concerns around campus, wasteful spending, claims of lack of student activism and MSU Beyond Coal and their continued fight for a concrete plan regarding renewable energy. News of positive happenings might surface, but they are less discussed and reflected on than their negative counterparts.

This past weekend, I participated in a charity volleyball tournament at Sigma Pi fraternity that sent the proceeds to the Wounded Warriors Project. After helping raise money for this charity, which works to help members of the military who have been injured in the line of duty after Sept. 11 readjust to society, I realized this is a good opportunity to talk about the importance of the Wounded Warriors Project. In one of my previous articles, I wrote that our military unfairly is sent around the world to solve other nations’ problems, and currently there is no foreseeable solution to this problem.

Although it can be debated if the U.S. government uses the military for personal or greedy purposes, what cannot be denied is the sacrifice all servicemen and servicewomen make when they chose to serve their country.

From the beginning, there were always those willing to put themselves in harm’s way to protect our country. First there were the minutemen and the militia during the Revolutionary War. That organization gradually evolved into a formal standing army after it was decided that a standing army would be needed after the Revolutionary War. Since that time, the U.S. has averaged a major conflict requiring its military for extensive action every ten years.

This fact demonstrates the exhaustive work the military must endure and has endured for generations. It also can help one understand the importance of the long-overdue Wounded Warriors Project. Here in the U.S., we have a health care crisis that makes it difficult for many people to receive basic, affordable care, to say nothing of a debilitating battle wound a returning soldier could carry.

Many of these injured soldiers have not only physical scars, but mental ones as well. Post-traumatic stress disorder is one of many burdens servicemen and servicewomen might carry after a period of service overseas. This neurological disorder can keep veterans from returning to a normal life due to its symptoms, which include anxiety, loss of sleep, aggression and depression that can lead to suicide.

With a disease such as this afflicting those returning from service, the importance of a charity such as Wounded Warriors cannot be overlooked.

Wounded Warriors works to help soldiers overcome the emotional damage the battlefield has inflicted. Along with providing medical care and therapy sessions through the body and mind programs, the program works to get soldiers readjusted to society by putting them back to work; a program that benefits not only the soldiers themselves, but the U.S. economy as well. To further aid their recovery, one program focuses solely on keeping soldiers connected, which maintains the bonds of camaraderie many of the soldiers have grown accustomed to.

Soldiers should not be forgotten, even when the fighting is done. This is an old saying in the U.S., but it holds true.

On a similar note, every charity deserves attention, but I personally have found the Wounded Warriors Project to be an especially admirable one. Hosting a volleyball tournament with my fraternity brothers benefiting this charity was a lot of fun; giving back to the soldiers who have given so much to keep us safe was an honor.

Jameson Joyce is a State News guest columnist and James Madison freshman. Reach him at joyceja1@msu.edu.

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