Why don't we take care of our military families?

Dear Friends,

Last night I read an article in the July 4 & 11 edition of Newsweek entitled "Daddy, Why is my School Falling Down?" (here).  It is very depressing and speaks volumes about our commitment to military families.  The first two paragraphs read:

For nearly half her life, 11-year-old Catie Hunter has lived apart from her father, an Army platoon sergeant deployed to Afghanistan, Iraq, and twice to Korea. Such extended separation would stress any child. But Catie must endure additional hardship at her elementary school at Oklahoma’s Fort Sill.

To get to class on stormy days, the fifth grader must dodge what she calls “Niagara Falls,” the deluge of rainwater that flows from the school’s rotten roof into large trash bins below. Pleasant days aren’t much better at Geronimo Road Elementary. Catie passes by chipped floors, termite-infested walls, and cracks in bricks the size of the principal’s finger. In the ceiling, tiles are bent and browned by leaks. Some dangle by threads of glue. A bucket, strapped by a bungee cord, hangs over the gymnasium door, another makeshift rain receptacle. Inside her classroom—built before Dwight D. Eisenhower became president—an archaic air-conditioning unit at times drowns out her teacher’s voice.

The article goes on to chronicle the deplorable state of the schools on military bases.  The way we treat military families today is obscene.  Everybody, particularly Republicans, talk about supporting our troops, but we fail to provide them with the equipment they need and the mental and physical health care they need.  We send them on endless deployments to fight wars of choice that are not winnable.  We ignore the impact on their families.  Now it seems we also fail to provide their children with even remotely adequate schools.

So I have a simple suggestion that could help in many ways.  We need to get Congress to allocate the funds necessary to bring all the schools on military bases up to the standards of the schools attended by President Obama's girls and by the children of members of Congress.  It is the least we can do to in some small way make up for the sacrifices these children make for our country.  In addition, it will create lots of good paying construction jobs and hence provide the economy with a nice stimulus. 

The Republicans should certainly agree since they say they are so patriotic and say they support the military.  The Democrats should agree since they actually are patriotic and do support the military and would like to see the economy stimulated.  But don't hold your breath, President Obama and the Republicans believe that they need to cut the deficit and the benefits available to government employees including the military.

Thanks for reading and please comment,
The Unabashed Liberal