The War on America's Military Veterans, Waged with SWAT Teams, Surveillance and Neglect

http://www.opednews.com/articles/The-War-on-America-s-Milit-by-John-Whitehead-Censorship_Government_Military_SWAT-Teams-140525-411.html

"As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them."--John F. Kennedy

The War on America's Military Veterans, Waged with SWAT Teams, Surveillance and Neglect
By John Whitehead
OpEdNews Op Eds 5/25/2014 at 11:14:16

Just in time for Memorial Day, we're once again being treated to a generous serving of praise and grandstanding by politicians and corporations eager to go on record as being supportive of our veterans. Patriotic platitudes aside, however, America has done a deplorable job of caring for her veterans. We erect monuments for those who die while serving in the military, yet for those who return home, there's little honor to be found.

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Indeed, Raub's case, a prime example of the government's war on veterans, exposes the seedy underbelly of a governmental system that is targeting Americans--especially military veterans--for expressing their discontent over America's rapid transition to a police state.

A federal judge actually dismissed Raub's lawsuit challenging the government's "Operation Vigilant Eagle" campaign and its increasing view of veterans as potential domestic terrorists as "far-fetched." Yet what may sound far-fetched to the courts is a grim reality to Americans who are daily being targeted for daring to exercise their constitutional rights to speak their minds, criticize the government, and defend themselves and their families against over-reaching government surveillance and heavy-handed police tactics.

It's ironic, isn't it, that we raise our young people to believe that it is their patriotic duty to defend freedom abroad by serving in the military, then when they return home, bruised and battle-scarred and suddenly serious about defending their freedoms at home, we treat them like terrorists. Then again, perhaps it's not so much ironic as it is tragic and pathetic--a sad tribute, indeed, to those willing to put their lives on the line.