{"id":36851,"date":"2015-11-11T08:19:47","date_gmt":"2015-11-11T13:19:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wanderlust.com\/?p=36851"},"modified":"2015-11-13T17:55:44","modified_gmt":"2015-11-13T22:55:44","slug":"moving-beyond-a-thank-you","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wanderlust.com\/pt-pt\/journal\/moving-beyond-a-thank-you\/","title":{"rendered":"Moving Beyond a “Thank You”"},"content":{"rendered":"

Lest we forget, almost 10 percent of the U.S. population have served in the military\u2014some 21 million\u00a0men and women<\/a>. It can take national days that honor veterans such as Veterans Day and Memorial Day to remind us of their service, but for veterans, our brief “thank you for serving”\u00a0can be too fleeting.<\/p>\n

In an article in The New York Times<\/em>, “Please Don\u2019t Thank Me for My Service<\/a>,” journalist Matt Richtel, who interviews several veterans, says:<\/p>\n

To some recent vets\u2014by no stretch all of them\u2014the thanks comes across as shallow, disconnected, a reflexive offering from people who, while meaning well, have no clue what soldiers did over there or what motivated them to go, and who would never have gone themselves nor sent their own sons and daughters. To these vets, thanking soldiers for their service symbolizes the ease of sending a volunteer army to wage war at great distance\u2014physically, spiritually, economically.<\/em><\/p>\n

Veterans often return only to feel disconnected from the society they served. Unemployment among veterans is decreasing<\/a>, but it is still higher than the national average. Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is common:\u00a0Between 10 percent to 30 percent of veterans develop<\/a>\u00a0PTSD after returning home. According to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs<\/a>, as many as 20 veterans take their own life each day.<\/p>\n

The word \u201chero” after the atrocities veterans have witnessed is sometimes unwelcome. Other veterans, like\u00a0Jarrod Chlapowski, say they feel undeserving of thanks. Writing in The Huffington Post<\/em><\/a>, he says:<\/p>\n

The ‘thank yous’ [have become] less awkward, though I have never felt like I deserved them. My service completed roughly as expected, experiencing nothing more dangerous than the plane ride home on leave.<\/em><\/p>\n

There is simply not enough understanding between those who have served and those who haven’t, and a quick “thank you” will not bridge that gap. What can?<\/p>\n

Speaking to veterans about their experiences\u2014if they are open to talking\u2014goes some way. In The New York Times<\/em> article, one veteran says he “appreciates thanks from someone who makes an effort to invest in the relationship and experience.\u201d This is echoed by Chlapowski in The Huffington Post<\/em>. Speaking of his comrades he says:\u00a0\u201cThey know you appreciate them. They need you to learn about them. Tell them that you will.\u201d<\/p>\n

There are many ways we can do this. Ask a VA hospital how you can help\u2014perhaps you can provide company to sick or injured veterans. Likewise, volunteer at hospice\u2014many individuals at the end of their life want to talk about their experiences, and 40 percent of people in hospice are veterans. Provide a comforting ear. Join a program like Connected Warriors<\/a> to teach yoga or meditation to veterans<\/a> for free. Offer free childcare to local parents who serve in the military, or other help to veterans in your community. Talk to veterans<\/a>, and listen to them.<\/p>\n

It is not that we shouldn’t say “thank you” as Phillip Carter, an Iraq veteran and Director of the Military, Veterans, and Society Program at the\u00a0Center for a New American Security, explains in an article<\/a>\u00a0he penned for The Washington Post<\/em>:<\/p>\n

Whether civilians fully realize it or not, the simple message of thanks sends a powerful message to veterans\u2014that the nation will take responsibility for our actions in her service. In some small way, this collective acceptance of responsibility helps veterans to transfer some of the psychological burdens of wartime service to society. Such gratitude will not eradicate combat stress nor address every veteran\u2019s experience. However, these small gestures do make a difference.<\/em><\/p>\n

It’s\u00a0just that there is so much more we can do to serve those who served.<\/p>\n

\u2014<\/p>\n

\n

\"HelenaveryHS\"<\/p>\n

Helen Avery<\/a> is a Section Editor at Wanderlust Media, working on the Vitality, Wisdom, and Wellness channels on wanderlust.com and YOGANONYMOUS. She is a\u00a0journalist, writer, yoga teacher, and full-time dog walker of Millie.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Our gratitude to veterans may be better expressed by reaching out to understand and serve them. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1495,"featured_media":36866,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1057],"tags":[740,895,1461,803],"class_list":["post-36851","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-wisdom","tag-gratitude","tag-service","tag-veterans","tag-wisdom"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nMoving Beyond A "Thank You"<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Our gratitude to veterans may be better expressed by reaching out to understand and serve them.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/wanderlust.com\/journal\/moving-beyond-a-thank-you\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" 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