The War At Home

Recent Congressional Actions have been played in the media as a sign of what certain groups of Americans think and believe about another.  I speak to you today about the recent very deep cut in Food Stamps or the SNAP Program.  To many it may appear that it is no big deal and in their minds and hearts they are justified in their hatred toward those who collect this service.  To the quiet majority of those who accept this form of assistance, we keep our head down and hope that no one learns that we are the ones that those who see it as a “hand-out” will not see our names on that list.  We quake at the thought that those who see recipients as “takers”, lazy, worthless, drug dealers, scammers or cheats, will look at us with those accusatory eyes and label us the same, that all we have accomplished so far in life will be wiped away and the memory of all the good we may have done will be forgotten and replaced by this scarlet brand.  Well I hate to be the bearer of bad news, Congress members, Corporate America and those who see themselves as” better than most” but this is no longer the case.  The war that you began when you labeled all of us as “less than” is about to begin and this one will originate and devastate the very “gated communities” you dwell in so safely and securely.  It will begin and will end at your front door.

The war I speak about is the one that will happen when those approximately 170,000 veterans lose their food stamps or SNAP benefits.  Image if you will, being told that you are a hero and how much you are appreciated when you don that uniform.  You go off to training, knowing that one day you may be asked to put your life on the line for this nation.  You are offered many chances to change your mind and stay clear of this commitment but you refuse because you love your God, your country and your freedoms.  You strap on that uniform, take a very deep breath, poke out your chest, proudly place on that uniform and rush into battle.  Weeks, months and years pass, conflicts turn into skirmishes, skirmishes into battles, and battles into wars.  You survive them all and emerge physically in one piece but mentally a mess.  You hide it well because you hear so many say thank you for your service.  You hear so many claims to care about what you will face at home and swear to help you get re-acclimated back to civilian life.  You look now only to regain your manhood status at home, provide for your family and never be a burden.  You began to trust those who say they care and think that the nightmares you live with now will soon be over but then you learn that the nightmares will never end and another has been now added to the list.

A group of spineless, pencil-pushers in congress and on the boards of Corporate America has decided to take away your only remaining grasp on civility by taking away food stamps or SNAP and labeling the approximately 170,000 of us as “worthless bastards” who have no desire to work and only want to burden their society.  They wish to take this “savings” and give it to those who don’t really need it for job security.  Those who gave so much for this nation as a whole and who now have to rely on food stamps or SNAP as our only means to maintain connected to this nation that we bled for are now labeled as “less than” and the service that we provided has been forgotten after the wars are over.   Had we not served brilliantly and failed in our task, these same spineless jellyfishes may have seen their “hard-earned” wealth being taken by another country “wealth-eaters” but they do not see it that way.  They see it as their “privileged” existence being the work of credit score instead of treasures lost.

Fair warning America, keep giving more to those who already have it all and taking from those who are struggling to make it and you will get your revolution.  It will not be televised but it is being telegraphed.  Those who have been suffering for many years will finally snap and what you will then see is a group that has been pushed too far.  For you, food stamps or SNAP is a “hand-out” but to those struggling to just survive it’s a “hand-up”.  A service that would be traded in a “heartbeat” for something better and more rewarding but is vital as our only link to sanity.  Your “reversed Robin Hood” ways will soon force others to set fire to Sherwood Forest and all those who view themselves as the King of Nottingham will be dethroned.

How or why do I know so much about this you ask?  It’s because I am one of those “deadbeats” worthless, drug dealing scammers and cheats that this is happening to, I’m also a veteran.