'Twas Ever Thus

The stories in the news of late about the many homeless Canadian veterans don't surprise me at all.  For millennia, foot soldiers have been recruited from the ranks of those who have no other skills.  This is why they join the military; they have no other money-earning options.  Those who read history know this and know that, sadly, these soldiers are cruelly referred to as "cannon fodder".  Sorry folks, but it's true. 

Consequently, when discharged, the majority still have no specific skills and thus no options about how to function productively in society.  The fact is that Canada treats its vets very well.  They are well-cared-for by the military, when hospitalization or rehabilitation are required before discharge.  But once on their own, many revert to what they would have been had they not joined up:  unemployable and maybe homeless. 

I know this sounds harsh, but if one thinks about it, it is an inescapable fact.  This is a universal truth that hits hard when watching footage of WW1 or WW2.  Scores of the nameless and faceless drop in their tracks at tender ages.  They are the dispensable, the unknowns, the cast-offs -- forgotten occupants of the graves of the unknown soldier.     

Nevertheless, the question I ask is, why do men and women who joined the forces voluntarily, were paid, rehabilitated and honourably discharged expect to be funded and supported forever?  We honour them regularly and symbolically, but we shouldn't feel guilty about their chosen predicaments.

Remember this when you read about the next inquiry which will undoubtedly unfold.