A Slammed Door

We sat in the over-crowded room expecting little and receiving zilch. A federal agency working on an environmental assessment for our historic VA, receiving reimbursement from the VA that is trying to close us, well, what did we expect? Of course the bias was in favor of closure of our VA. The meeting was tightly controlled by the woman from the EIS. We were upset, but being told in advance that we could not make any comments or ask questions, we sat tight. Well, most of us did.

When a few tried to speak up, they were told to sit down, with the exception of a representative from the VA who was allowed to respond. As the meeting progressed, anger mounted. Finally, when one on the committee was interrupted by the dictatorial leader of the meeting,  a member of the audience stood up and shouted "Don't interrupt him, this is (fu,,,,) ridiculous! He stormed out and slammed the door, carrying much of the rage and futility of the rest of us observers with him.

As a friend wrote me after he finished reading my book, Reveille in Hot Springs, "I can see why the powers that are prefer not to put a human face on this closing of your VA. Most of the stories dealing with PTSD, and alcohol/substance abuse, not to mention injuries, well, what can you say? It really is never actually about the individual, but it's all about numbers when it comes to bureaucracies."

Ah, yes, the federal government will not, or can not look upon individual veterans. They can manipulate numbers easily and these numbers, in our case, have been distorted and corrupted. Feelings? Well, how can a large agency deal with them? Stories, pleas, hopes and requests? Well, they can make the bureaucrats uncomfortable. It seems simpler to crunch numbers and slip them into slots that fit easily into "their plan".

What about the veterans and their families? What about the taxpayers that will have to foot the bill for a more expensive alternative? Just who do these people represent? Not the veterans, not the taxpayers.

It is ironic when you think about it. We, the taxpayers pay their salaries. We, and the veterans who served them, do not seem to count. The story is not complete and the battle goes on. Stay tuned for further developments.