Quote:
Originally Posted by Pete
Every veteran should belong to at least one veterans organization.
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You know I agree with you for the most part, however a lot depends on where you are and what makes up these organizations. I have found a lot of difference among mindsets up here in Vermont where the difference between a military retiree and a military veteran are so stark that you would think that we did not serve in the same military. I actually joined several organizations when I got here but I left all of them and moved my membership to the national level for just two. It may be just my shallow view on things but I think it is part a parcel of what happens to some of us that spend their active years in the military and come away broken and that is we seem to define ourselves in terms that reflect what we did as being who we are. Veterans on the other hand, regardless of how admirably they might have served, define themselves in broader terms where the military was but a brush stroke or two on the canvas of their history. Of course that is not true for all, but it is certainly true up here and perhaps that is because of the liberal nature of the State. Consequently there is a very provincial view of the world around them and in a State that prides itself more on social welfare than self determination and individual responsibility for ones actions, it makes it very difficult to sit around with the "vets" and listen to them bitch and moan about what Uncle Sam owes them for missing a couple of prime years of opening deer, trout, or turkey season. Just my opinion.