What should the government do?

Mobasoft is following me on Twitter. Not exactly sure what I tweeted that inspired him to connect with me, but, whatever. It's how the universe works I suppose. He seems cool enough that I'm not worried. Read that as "he doesn't appear to be slinking through the web looking for a date, so I decided not to block him from my account."

Anyway, I checked out his blog. I'm always up for reading someone else's opinions on topics. And I found this post from last week. It's about what the government should provide it's military veterans. It's interesting to hear opinions of vets. And I hadn't considered this view at all. Actually, I'm not even certain I'd given the issue a whole lot of thought in general. My initial reaction is "Of course we should help the veterans... they gave their time, the governement should continue to help them as a sign of gratitude." But, I'm the one who often needs to step back and think a little before deciding what I really think on a topic.

Mobasoft's view is to provide nothing - the housing, food, health care is included when you enlist and while you are a member of the armed forces. But, once you leave, you're a civilian again... and need to adjust.

Perhaps better transitioning programs need to be arranged? I say that like I have a clue what transitioning programs already exist. And, I also think if you are wounded in the line of duty, your medical expenses need to be paid whether you are in or out. And I think services need to be readily available for emotional/mental health related issues from being in the war zone - at least for a certain amount of time after the fact. Because it's irresponsible to send people into battle and expect them to come out without some kind of mental or emotional trauma. And I know of one Marine wounded in Iraq about 1 year ago - who is about to undergo his 40th surgery to repair his jaw... until that's fixed, the government absolutely needs to continue to pay those medical bills - and help him with his mental state. You better believe he is mentally where he is in large part because of what he experienced. Consider it workman's comp. He is at least owed that - as are many of our soldiers.

But, I tend to agree that under normal circumstances, when you go back to leading civilian life, you don't get any hand-outs. If you're clearly not injured, wounded, or suffering from any mental issues as a direct result of being in a war zone, you can get help the way the rest of us do: by paying for it.

Is this idea that veterans deserve to be cared for even when they are no longer in the military an example of the entitlement attitude of some Americans? You know, where we should just get things because we "deserve them?" Because somebody "owes us" for our time?

Just wondering.