Veterans are not just heroes or victims
January 16, 2014 -- Updated 1736 GMT (0136 HKT)
Wahlberg: People NEED to know about this
Editor's note: Eric Liu is the founder of Citizen University and author of several books, including "The Gardens of Democracy" and "The Accidental Asian." He served as a White House speechwriter and policy adviser for President Bill Clinton. Follow him on Twitter @ericpliu
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(CNN) -- "Lone Survivor," based on the true story of
an ambushed Navy SEAL team in Afghanistan, was the No. 1 movie in
America last weekend. If you haven't seen it, go see it.
The movie reminded me of a
phrase, "citizenship on the cheap," which has haunted me since I heard
retired Army Gen. Stanley McChrystal utter it last summer. He was
launching the Franklin Project,
an ambitious initiative to expand national service in America. But he
was talking about something deeper -- the widening divide between
civilians and those coming out of the military.
.
Because the Iraq and
Afghanistan wars have been fought by an all-volunteer force, the great
majority of Americans have only passing acquaintance with the sacrifices
of national defense. Most Americans have not been asked to do anything
more for their country during wartime than to thank the troops.
Eric Liu
That's why McChrystal has
called for a rapid expansion of voluntary civilian service programs
like AmeriCorps, so more civilians join those who serve in uniform. I
couldn't agree more. I'd go further, in fact, and mandate national
service, whether military or civilian. That, however, is a pipe dream
when our nation can't even fully tolerate mandatory health insurance
coverage.
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How, then, can American
society aspire to something greater than citizenship on the cheap?
Perhaps the answer lies not in trying to make more Americans serve but
in enabling more veterans to serve in new ways when they come home.
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There are more than 2.6 million
Iraq and Afghanistan veterans today. As our country's longest wars wind
down, a million more are expected to return. These are people with
leadership skills, professionalism, experiences solving complex problems
under high stress while keeping a larger mission in mind. Think America
could use a few (million) good men and women like that?
.
'
Lone Survivor' rocks the box office
Essay: Real story behind 'Lone Survivor'
.
Meet two of them, Rodrigo Garcia of Student Veterans of America and Chris Marvin of Got Your 6.
Got Your 6 is military
parlance for "got your back" and Marvin, a former Army Blackhawk pilot,
founded this national campaign to bridge the military-civilian divide.
It activates celebrities, social media, political and cultural leaders,
and every other resource available to advance a simple message: Veterans
are assets.
.
This may seem obvious.
But consider the two dominant images of veterans in everyday culture,
from movie screens to school assemblies to corporate advertising. One is
the hero. The other is the victim.
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The hero narrative
portrays veterans as Medal of Honor winners with superhuman courage,
amputees undaunted by their disabilities, and, yes, lone survivors of
hellish battles. The victim story portrays veterans as sufferers of
post-traumatic stress disorder, wounded warriors betrayed by
bureaucracy, combat leaders now left homeless and jobless.
.
To be clear, both
narratives have a basis in reality. More veterans than can be counted
have indeed been damaged by war, and more than can be counted are indeed
heroes of war. They have earned every bit of support, care, honor and
gratitude we offer them -- and often more.
.
But the hero and victim
portrayals emphasize two messages: that vets belong on a pedestal, and
that vets need your compassion. The veterans I know are looking for a
third message: Vets can be great citizens back home.
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Consider Garcia, from
Student Veterans of America, a Marine veteran who in the crowded years
since his deployments has gone to graduate school, started businesses,
led Student Veterans of America's expansion to many hundreds of campuses
nationwide, and helped run a state veterans affairs department.
.
The question for
civilians is how to create more channels for people like Garcia to
continue being contributors and leaders in public service -- not as
pilots or infantry commanders but as candidates for office or school
principals or heads of nonprofits.
.
How we do this is
simple. We just do it. We foster relationships between veterans and
civilians. We hire, connect, mentor and invest in veterans. We support
organizations like The Mission Continues and Team Rubicon that plug veterans into community service. We learn from them about how to show up for others.
.
It's often said that
"freedom isn't free." That's true. Freedom is dear. So is great
citizenship, and so is deep gratitude. If we truly want to thank
veterans for their service, let's make sure each one who returns from
war is empowered to be an integrated, vital part of their community's
social fabric and civic life.
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- The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Eric Liu.
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