Hello again, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to another episode of Freedom's Creed. I have been super busy over the last couple of months, and in fact, the last episode that I recorded was on September the 11th, 2021. And we just finished celebrating Veterans Day. So I'm back at it now and we'll get back on track with doing the Tuesday-Friday episodes of the podcast. And I want to thank each of you for tuning in, even if it's just mom and dad and my brothers and my family. Hey, that's cool. I'll take it. But in all seriousness, I am excited to be back and doing the podcast. So let's get it going. Today is uh November the 12th, 2021, one day removed from Veterans Day. And I fully intended to do this episode yesterday, but because of constraints on my time, I wasn't able to do that. But here I am now, and I want to talk about veterans, and I want to devote this podcast to veterans. And really what it comes down to for me is that they pay the ultimate sacrifice. In scripture, the Lord says that one cannot love another more than someone who gives his life for another person. And we all know that there are veterans who did make that ultimate sacrifice, who gave their very life so that we could be free and have the liberty that we desire to be able to do the things that we want to do. And of course, there are many veterans who didn't pay the ultimate sacrifice, but who have come back to us broken and beaten. And our government in many instances has turned its back on them. I don't want to focus on the negativity. I do want to shine a light on the fact that veterans need to be taken care of, plain and simple. I don't use the term deserve very often, but personally, I think that veterans deserve to be taken care of by the government. And I'll talk more about that in a little bit. You want to know what the really incredible thing about those who serve in the military who've paid the ultimate sacrifice? In most cases, they never even knew who we were. Yet they made that sacrifice of love. That's really what it is. Now, they may not have consciously been thinking that, but ultimately, that's exactly what it is. No one would be able to do all that they do in this country and every aspect of living without those who defend our way of life. And it's been that way from the establishment of the United States. Those who paid the ultimate sacrifice should be remembered throughout the year, not just on Veterans Day. And in addition to that, those whose scars are physical or mental need to be remembered too. And I'm going to talk just a little bit more about that as well. Now, there's a website, it's called mentalhealth.va.gov. And if you want to look at that website, you may certainly do so. I went to that website and I wanted to find out some rather sobering statistics. Now, this is for 2019. By the end of 2019, there were 6,261 veteran suicides. That's more than 17 veterans per day who are taking their own life. Now, again, this is 2019 numbers. I don't know what they are now. I'm sure there's probably a way to find that number. But suffice it to say, there are a lot of veterans who are taking their own lives. And to be sure, that is far too many. And well, it even pales in comparison to the 45,861 adults who committed suicide in 2019, or over 125 adult suicides per day. Now, I didn't look up the teen suicide rate, though I know that it's unusually high, and there are many, many factors that go into not only teens taking their own lives, but adults, veterans, the whole spectrum when it comes to suicides is depressing and it's sad. And we need to try to do something to curb these suicides. Now, suicides for any demographic is tragic. Okay, let's not kid ourselves. But on Veterans Day of this year, and now it is, of course, the day after Veterans Day, but nevertheless, we need to focus on the suicides in the veteran community. And here is the reason why I say that. If those who serve in the military are good enough to fight when Congress makes a declaration of war and the commander-in-chief signs off on that, and then those same military personnel come back to the states and they don't get the help that they need and deserve, as I say, from the same government, then that's a real problem. If they are good enough to put on the uniform and defend our way of life, and frankly, it really doesn't matter what reason is given for a particular war, the men and women who sign up for it are at the behest of the commander in chief when it comes right down to it. And if the government is unwilling to do everything that is humanly possible to take care of these brave men and women, then that is beyond a real problem. I want to share with you an account of a friend of mine whose husband, a veteran, took his own life. He had PTSD, and instead of the government helping him in a meaningful way, evidently all they did was prescribe pills for him. That is a disgrace to him, to his service, and to his family. And as far as I'm concerned, it's unacceptable. It's unacceptable that even one family has to endure such a travesty, let alone thousands of family members. Now, I don't know all the circumstances relating to my friend's husband's suicide, but nevertheless it's a tragic thing to have happen to anyone. It shouldn't happen, but it does. And I can only imagine that with the thousands of veteran suicides every year, that something is not connecting, something is not working between the government whom they serve and served, and the individual veteran themselves. If counseling is needed, then counseling should be offered. And I get it. I served in the military myself. I understand the pride of those who serve our country. They did it willingly, they do it willingly. Sometimes we don't even know that the one who took their own life is even suffering. Many people, because of the stigma, I suppose, but many people are really good at hiding their true feelings, their true selves. And I can only imagine with PTSD that it's probably enhanced tenfold, twenty-fold, I don't know. But it's it has to be one of the most difficult things to have to deal with, to have the nightmares to wake up in a cold sweat, to think that you are still back in the theater of battle and you wake up and it's you laying in a bed with your pillow drenched and your sheets drenched with sweat because you just had another nightmare. Why do we let this continue to happen? As I said earlier, if these good men and women are willing to put their lives on the line and ultimately pay that ultimate sacrifice, whether it's in the field of battle or it's after they come back to the states and they can't deal with the stress of life because they're not getting the help that they need. And the only way they see for them to get out of that is to take their own life, to end it. I'm tense right now just making that statement. My fists are clenched, and I didn't even realize that I was doing that. Ladies and gentlemen, something needs to be done to help these veterans. People need to do more. And I understand not everyone is going to be able to be helped for one reason or another, but I just can't believe that the thousands of people who take their own life on a yearly basis in this country who are veterans, that that was the only way that they could see themselves getting out of that situation was to just end their life. I'm really saddened by it. I really, really am. And as I said, I'm a veteran. I've served overseas. I was in the Middle East long before the war in Afghanistan and the war in Iraq took place. But in any case, my heart goes out to veterans and the families of veterans, especially those who have lost loved ones from suicide. And I haven't even mentioned the mental and physical anguish that those veterans who come back to the states missing a limb, half of their face blown off, their whole head suffering third degree burns. I I can't imagine what that must be like for them. And for anyone who doesn't have the empathy for these veterans, and who thinks that Veterans Day is just another holiday, just another time to have a barbecue or do whatever. And you're sorely mistaken. These people have given everything so that we could continue to live freely, to do whatever we want to do within the bounds of a law. And even, I dare say in the last couple of years, we have seen evidence of people actually breaking the law and not being prosecuted for it. That is a slap in the face to every veteran, to everyone who serves today. It's disgusting. Personally, I know I need to do more. I need to do more to help my fellow veterans, and I aim to do so. I don't want to talk about it necessarily right now. I just want to make sure that I do it. Because in my book, actions speak way louder than any word or words that I could utter on any veteran's behalf. I am going to hold myself accountable and make sure that I am doing something proactively to help my fellow veterans. And with that, ladies and gentlemen, I will be ending this episode. But as is tradition with the podcast, I want to leave you with not only one quote today, but two quotes. The first comes from Ronald Reagan, who said this quote We remember those who were called upon to give all a person can give, and we remember those who were prepared to make that sacrifice if it were demanded of them in the line of duty, though it never was. Most of all, we remember the devotion and gallantry with which all of them ennobled their nation as they became champions of a noble cause. The second quote comes from Douglas MacArthur, that great World War II general. And I might add that his words ring true today absolutely in my mind. Listen to what he said. Quote, I am concerned for the security of our great nation, not so much because of any threat from without, but because of the insidious forces working from within.