Print

Email story

Comment

Email editor

Post-traumatic stress disorder needs to be taken seriously

Re: "Over my dead body," Feb. 13.

Your article about Sgt. Curtis Greene's suicide as a result of having post-traumatic stress disorder from his experiences in Iraq was an enormous public service. It is disgraceful how little most people know about this deadly disease.

I am a veteran of the Korean War and have had PTSD for 52 years. I waited 50 years to report my condition to the Veterans Administration. PTSD severely diminished the quality of life for me and my family. I should have gone for help sooner, and I hope others won't make the same mistake.

An important component of military training is to get you angry... very angry. This is true for hand-to-hand combat training and especially true for bayonet training. They know that the angrier they can get you, the better warrior you will be. While in combat, when you see your friends get killed, the anger turns to uncontrollable rage, and that's the way the military wants you to be.

If we are lucky enough to return home, we discover the military didn't issue us an "off" switch. We suffer where you can't see. We are powerless to explain it, and no one seems to care.

If you are a combat veteran who has PTSD, or a family member of one, seek help at the Veterans Administration. The PTSD radio will always be playing in your head, but they know how to turn the volume down. PTSD is a disease, not a disgrace.

For the rest of you, take those stupid metallic ribbons off the back of your cars. If you want to show your support for our combat veterans of any war, the next time you see one, look him in the eye, give him a firm handshake and just say "Thank you for serving your country." It's the best medicine I know for someone who is living with this horrible problem.

Keep focusing on war's impact

Re: "Over my dead body."

I am writing to say that I appreciate Mary Spicuzza's recent front-page story about the service and loss of Sgt. Curtis Greene. I believe this type of story speaks to the potential impact of war and the service of the American men and women who are making such large sacrifices.

Please keep informing civilians of the gains and losses associated with our nation taking military action against another nation. I believe it is important to hear and see both sides of the current U.S. military action to make educated and informed decisions about what we support.

Look into the instant runoff

Re: The benefits of instant-runoff voting, Feb. 13.

I would like to thank Martin Dyckman and the St. Petersburg Times for this endorsement of instant-runoff voting. IRV is one of the few mechanisms that has the ability to lift politics from their current abysmal state and restore some faith in our system of government. I feel it is essential for the public to gain exposure to IRV, which has been virtually unknown in our country until recently.

Anyone interested in finding out more about IRV should visit www.CIRV.org.Jereme M. Wheeler, New Port Richey

Re: The outsourcing of prisoners, by Robyn Blumner, Feb. 13.

It's only in the last year or so that I've been reading Robyn Blumner's column. In that time, I've become a big fan. Now, more than ever, this country needs a strong, clear voice in opposition to the ruling party. She is certainly that. I commend her courage and powerful writing.

The last paragraph of this column gave me a chill. It precisely describes the feeling of frustration, fear and disenfranchisement about half of us feel toward this tainted administration. Will we truly "soon have no place to hide from the devil that is the imperial presidency"? I hope not.

Unions are no longer needed

Re: Democrats should look for the union label, by Robyn Blumner, Feb. 6.

Why do you think the union membership keeps dwindling? It's because the members are tired of their fat cat union leadership sitting on their rear-ends in their posh Manhattan apartments and living a ritzy lifestyle that every union member wishes he could enjoy. Go ahead: Keep paying those union dues so your leadership can keep having fancy parties.

Also, many of the older union members who are still working are turning in their union cards because they are tired of watching the lazy union worker get away with his laziness without any repercussions while the hard-working member has to pick up that person's slack.

All unions do now is raise the cost of that new vehicle you purchased, or for that matter any product made by a union workforce. Why do you think jobs are going overseas? Because foreign workers don't expect to be given the goose that layed the golden egg and the egg, too. Every time union negotiations crank up for a new contract they want more money, more benefits, more freebies. Guess who pays for it? Joe Consumer.

Unions had their time and place, but their purpose is now outdated.

A reminder of what we can be

Thank you for Kelley Benham's exquisite Valentine's Day story, Always, Ed, in last Sunday's Floridian.

Ed Barber introduced us and was best man at our wedding when we were all together as college journalists in Gainesville in the mid-1960s. We've always said he and Judy were the most loving and devoted couple we ever knew. Her death last March was heartbreaking not only for him but for all who knew them. Their love, as the words from Ed's awesome letters show, was epic, and we salute Kelley and Floridian for giving it such moving treatment and play.

We note, too, Ed's lifelong devotion to his profession. He has been an exemplary journalist for 40 years, and he could have achieved much more visible success. But by staying with the old Florida Alligator and the now Independent Florida Alligator all this time as general manager, he has passed his high standards and values along to innumerable student journalists, many of whom have gone on to great achievements.

We doubt any single individual has had more influence for good on Florida journalism than Ed Barber. The Society of Professional Journalists, at its meeting in Tampa a couple of years ago, presented him with a national award in recognition of his sterling contributions.

The Barbers remind us all of what we are capable, in countless small ways, of doing and being and feeling. Kudos for telling their story so commendably.

[Last modified February 20, 2005, 00:52:14]