I Don’t Care (or The Neo-Con Bergdahl Distraction)

I don't know what Bowe Bergdahl did or when or how. I also don't care. It is being investigated and will be handled within the jurisdiction of the UCMJ. Whether they get it right or get it wrong will not mean a damned thing for veterans issues overall the next morning. 

It won't. It doesn't. It can't.

Obsessing over Bergdahl isn't fixing one damned thing I find important in my life. What he did and how he did it isn't getting a single fucking veteran a quicker medical appointment. It isn't getting anyone an expedited hearing on their disability claim. It won't result in any form of adult supervision with regard to the way military sexual trauma victims are treated.  People go UA and AWOL all the damned time in garrison and on deployments. It happens. What happens from here on with Bergdahl changes nothing for anyone else but him and his immediate family.

It isn't correcting decades of VA and DoD incompetence on military sexual assault. It isn't getting returning veterans the proper medical and mental health care they need. It isn't ensuring that future politicians are held accountable for elective wars that cost trillions and far too many lives.

I get it why so many neo-cons are frothing at the mouth and expending sooooo much emotion on this topic, even though the vast majority have never worn a uniform themselves. It is about their hatred of Obama for cutting a deal to get him back. They refuse to see him as the Commander in Chief (proving they are not actually comprehending the concept of military service in the first place and lack the discipline that it would require), while simultaneously pretending they are uber-patriots. They care because they are not pro-troops so much as they are pro-war and pro-killing and pro-destruction, so long as it is a Republican doing the honors.

The strange neo-con obsession over Bergdahl is not about patriotism or justice, but politics. When I see those same people spending their own time and money and blood and sweat and tears for veterans on a regular basis, then I'll fucking buy that they actually care. When I see them take the time to get knowledgeable on the issues facing the troops that they claim to "support", then I'll buy it. When I see them marching with veterans and calling foul on the abuses and broken promises of DoD and the VA, then I'll wonder if I've been wrong. 

I won't hold my breath. It ain't coming. Ever.

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