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Jan. 14, 2024 - Stew Peters Show
55:09
Shocking Report Labels Veterans as Extremist!
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Time Text
The U.S. government views veterans as the population most likely to act out acts of extremism, extremist actions, towards the U.S. government.
Would you find that an issue, a problem?
Well, I do.
And today we're going to have a discussion about that.
Jason and I have found some article and some other information that suggests That the top tiers of the United States government are saying and think that we are the problem as it relates to terrorist and extremism towards the U.S. government.
So today's discussion is centered around that, so stick with us.
Don't go away.
We start now Hey everybody and welcome here to the next episode of the Richard Leonard show I want to thank you, as always, for joining us.
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Okay.
We got to get started here.
I'm all wound up already.
So let's just get into it.
Let me find Jason here.
There he is.
Hey, Jason.
How are you?
Good.
And yourself, buddy?
Well, I'm okay.
I'm okay.
I'm excited to get started.
Okay.
So talk to us a little bit about this idea that the U.S. government seems to think that veterans are most likely the population of people in our communities that will display extremist tendencies towards the U.S. government.
The government that we swore to uphold and defend were the problem.
Or so the article indicates.
That's great.
That's fantastic.
How did...
Okay.
How did you feel...
Because I could tell you that after the first three paragraphs, my back started to sweat.
How did you feel as you were reading this article?
Right.
Shocked and pained.
I mean, it's...
I wish...
Veterans didn't have to lead the way in every category, but apparently we're just going to keep carrying this torch forward, huh?
So, apparently this is the thing that we do now, and of course, it's a 262-page study.
I'm sure, you know, the real information is buried somewhere in there, and I don't think you or I have the time or bandwidth to be able to go through it, but it very clearly did identify that it is not the active component that hasn't issued, it is the veteran community as a whole.
Period.
And so, I mean, do you think a community that's kind of been ostracized or maybe been left out in the cold by the same government that they did swear an oath to uphold and protect and continually face battles created by the same entity that created them would sometimes be reluctant to believe do you think a community that's kind of been ostracized or maybe been left out in the cold by the same government that they did I have to think that's a pretty normal stance to be in, right?
Right.
My wife kept telling me, oh, don't worry, come upstairs, there's a $5 bill.
And every time I came up the stairs, there was a couple of nickels on the ground and I had to, you know, scrape them out of the carpet.
Pretty soon I'm not coming up for the $5 bill.
So maybe I just have a, not a distrust, but I'm just not going to believe what you're selling me each and every time.
And so if they want to take that perception that we're not going to have full faith in belief in what they're telling us is the case, then I think let the cards fall where they may.
Well, I can't disagree with that.
If you told me there was money upstairs and I'm scraping hair and gum off a couple of coins, I'm going to be pretty pissed off about that.
So now, I just want to read just the second paragraph from this article.
And it states this.
According to the report, which was commissioned by the Defense Department, anecdotal accounts of service members being involved in violent extremism create a false impression that it's an outsized problem.
Those accounts often fail to differentiate, I have a problem with that word, between current service members and former troops.
A demographic found to participate in violent extremism at higher rates.
So the research is saying that...
Current members of the military, not so much, right?
They're just doing what they're told.
They're collecting the check, doing a job.
But it's when these individuals get out of the service, all of a sudden, they have this violent terrorist ideation of how to take over the government or overthrow the government.
And so let's dissect that for a second.
Right.
Because here's the thing.
We know that we joined the military on our own free will, right?
You didn't join, you weren't drafted, and I wasn't drafted.
100% of the soldiers that joined the military, when you and I joined, were not drafted soldiers.
We all joined at our own free will.
Now, with that being said, we also know what the potential cost is of that.
So I don't want to go on with this conversation and have anybody think that we were duped into fighting a war or duped into going into the military just in general because, well, you know, it's just got to be the cool thing to do.
We understand what the price could be.
But when we did that...
I don't know exactly when you joined, Jason, but I joined in 2001, 2002, something like that.
We were at a time of war.
To be quite honest, I never really had an inclination to join the military until after 9-11.
And I found myself in a position where it was probably the best thing for me.
But I also was motivated by the fact that we got our asses handed to us by a blindsided shot.
And so we know.
We know exactly what the price could be.
And how could a person...
Who has been trained over and over and over and over again to destroy an enemy by all means necessary with all the tools of war that are available to our disposal.
With speed and violence of action.
And then in the process told...
Hey guys, I know it's tough, but we can't dwell on it.
We got the mission first, mission first, mission first.
Don't think about it.
Don't let it bother you right now.
I know it's tragic, but we got to keep moving on.
And we openly accept that idea and we roll with it and we do as we're told.
And then when we get home, after all that bullshit, you get home and you struggle and And then when you go for help and somebody turns their back on you or the VA is screwing you around or the county veteran service officers don't want to meet with you because they're too busy, but you can't even get the damn people on the phone.
There's nothing.
The only thing that we have, really, is each other.
And some people in our community that are civilians that appreciate the military for what it is.
And then when we get pissed off at the government and display it, even a little bit or a lot of bit, now we're labeled the villains.
But you taught me.
You made me.
You made me what I am.
If I'm a problem to you, the U.S. government, it's because you made me that way.
I didn't pick the training that you gave me.
I didn't pick the person that you made me become just in the duration of the training.
So how can you then turn your back on veterans once again and say that they're the goddamn problem?
How does that make any sense, number one?
And number two, admitting it like this.
Doing a study and then putting out to the world, well, you know, our United States military veterans are the ones that are likely to overthrow the government.
We're the smallest population of people in our government.
But we're the most terrifying?
Hmm, why is that?
Because you trained us to be the most terrifying war machine possible.
And because we did it?
Now we're a problem.
Chew on that for a minute.
Is your blood pressure coming down at all?
No.
I'm sweating underneath my chesticles.
I mean, it's just so maddening to me because, Jason, veterans struggle every day.
Every day.
Because of the things that they chose to do.
And although we did it of our own free will, that doesn't make us enemies of the government.
Right.
It's demoralizing.
It's just another strike to the back of your leg as you're trying to get up and walk again.
Now you're the, you know, potentially, you're found to participate in violent extremism at higher rates.
I can't even think of one violently extreme activity that a veteran has undertaken in the last few years.
Can you?
Not off the top of my head.
Off the top of my head, and I'm not saying that it hasn't occurred, and, you know, fact check and check this, but...
I don't think it's been disproportionately military or the veteran community that's been a part of it.
The fact that we're even looking at it is just...
I suppose we look at everything now anyway, so it's not surprising that we would do it, but it would be surprising that you're going to have these hedged...
Groups that come in and they look very specifically for a thing and when we talk about it all the time, man, how to lie with statistics.
So if I can focus my questionnaire to kind of produce the results that I want, you know, maybe this is just skewed perspective stuff, but there's clearly either it is there and they found it or they wanted to be able to say it and so they created it.
I don't know which one it is.
Well, I guess I don't really have an idea either which one it is.
But just the sheer idea of what's being insinuated in this 600 and something word article leads me to believe that you don't like what you created.
Is this a thing now?
Because, and just for clarity, folks, this article, or not this article, but this study was done just shortly after January 6th.
The big insurrection and attack on the Capitol where the cops were providing water bottles and guided tours of the building.
But it was an insurrection, and, you know, we tore the place apart.
It's all bullshit, all of it.
It's like saying, hey, you know, that female we went to high school with, guess what?
She grew up, and now she's a hooker in Las Vegas.
Well, that's because her mom was a hooker in Las Vegas maybe.
So because she's doing what was shown to her, this is how you survive.
This is how you make money for yourself.
You know, we're a product of our environment, I guess is what I'm trying to say.
The environment that you and I and many others chose to be in was the United States military.
And the consequences and potential price that we had to pay Was something that we knew about.
But at no time was I ever, ever under the inclination or could I ever imagine that because of what I was taught and the way that I was taught to perform my duties at a high level was going to be a problem for the people that taught it to me.
And I guess I don't understand What examples they're using.
Like you said, there has been no example.
You know what I do know an example of, Jason, in the last five years?
What's that?
Somebody offing Jeffrey Epstein in a cell.
Politicians doing crooked shit all over the place.
Elizabeth Dole stealing money to pad her own pockets and screw over caregivers in the VA community.
I know of a lot more high ranking politicians, military members and just public figures that screw over the United States people all the time.
Maybe not violently, But there's a whole lot more going on than veterans attacking the United States government.
Yeah.
If there was a civil war to be waged on the United States government and it was led by veterans, I don't think that they should be surprised because they stick us with the big green weedy un-lubed all the time.
Hold on.
Did I just hear the big green weenie?
Yes, you did.
Nicely done.
Yep.
They slap you across the face with it and then shove it where the sun don't shine with no lubrication.
Wow.
Constantly.
Right?
Well, and then, you know, the other part where it kind of wrapped up at the end is, you know, they saw that the loss of military identity appears to be a strong association with difficult adjustment to civilian life that can in turn contribute to negative behaviors.
I don't even understand how to take that word soup and try to create something out of it.
But if you're saying the fact that you've left the military and now you don't have that as that thing of who you are, you know, day in and day out, that somehow that can lead down the path of negativity.
I challenge you to go find people who have recently left the military and you try to find the ones that aren't smiling.
I don't think you're going to find them.
Yeah, well, challenge accepted.
Somebody accept that challenge.
Well, you're absolutely right.
Folks get out of the military and they couldn't be happier about it.
Now, I will say this.
There does come a time through that process of exiting the military where you stop and think if you did the right thing.
Right.
But it's never about because the government is so good to us when we're wearing a uniform.
It's all about the men and women that you serve next to, the relationships you made, the bullshit that you lived through together.
That's what people miss.
And for anybody to insinuate, like you just read, loss of their military identity appears to have a strong association with difficult adjustments to civilian life.
That can in turn contribute to negative behaviors.
I don't know that it's a loss of my military identity.
It's probably a product of what you built.
I don't know about you, but it was explained to me when I went to basic training that, hey man, here's the process.
You're going to get there, and they're going to tear you down to the studs.
Mentally, physically, and emotionally.
They're going to tear you down.
And in the last half of your time there, they're going to build you up into a soldier, into a war-fighting machine.
No matter what your MOS was.
If you're a dental hygienist, guess what?
When you went to basic training, you learned how to move, shoot, and communicate effectively.
Whether or not you succeeded and are good enough at it to actually fight a battle is one thing.
But you were taught.
And so no one's ever going to get me to agree or believe that because I got out of the military and I didn't get to wear a uniform anymore, now all of a sudden I'm violent.
How about the actions of war and the damage that it does to your mind and your body is what changes veterans?
Not the fact that we lost our ability to wear a uniform.
Right.
It was the experience, not the job.
Right.
And if they're finding that veterans are so pissed off at the government that they're taking action, well, that's not right, and I don't condone that.
But don't feed the American people some bullshit about it's because we lost our military identity.
Because the people that are important to me still see me as a soldier.
Of some sort.
I got long hair now and I'm quite overweight.
What changed?
Well, a little bit.
A little bit has changed.
But the point is, is that that identity is still holding strong with the people that are important in my life.
My co-workers, my friends, my family, my wife, my kids...
Nobody forgot that I was in the military, and nobody thinks that I'm an asshole because I can't wear a uniform anymore.
In fact, if you were to ask people that are closely related to me, like my wife, when we have arguments and I fly off the handle too quickly, it's not because I don't get to wear a uniform anymore.
It's probably because I have a low tolerance for bullshit, and sometimes we argue about bullshit.
I don't know.
Man, I'm sorry to cut you off and stay up on my soapbox, brother, but this is absolutely asinine to me, and maybe I'm making a bigger deal out of it than I need to.
I don't think so, dude.
If we're going to have something to talk about, this is a very important one because it's people's perception of the veteran community that feeds to the negative connotations in our culture.
It's so easy when you have a study like this to say that thing that now if you do have a veteran who has some issues or is struggling or transitioning, it just makes it that much more difficult for people to reach out to them to help them because, oh geez, you know,
well Tim Johnson there in the neighborhood, you know, he really hasn't gotten as long as a mode and I heard he doesn't have a, you know, he lost his job and he's just got a lot of problems going on and all of a sudden you hear this whole thing that Oh boy, well, you know, guys like him, they have a propensity for violent outbursts against the government.
Well, maybe somebody might have been in a position to help Tim out, but now because they hear again another negative thing about, you know, a negative thing that I have to doubt that there's any real reality behind this.
Now maybe they're going to be even more reluctant to vote Tim out again.
You know, it's just another kick in the teeth.
You know, if it's a direct kick from Big Daddy Gov, or the Big Green Wiener, or what was it?
Big Green Weenie.
The Big Green Weenie, you know, the Big Green Weenie coming down from Big Daddy, or it's the cold shoulder from a neighbor.
It doesn't matter.
They both hurt.
They both affect the community.
They affect the healing.
And so this isn't a positive thing to have out there, and it sure as hell isn't gonna be anything that's gonna help us.
It's not gonna help us move the dial for positive change.
Yeah, I agree a thousand percent.
And we're running short on the segment, but my last thought before we take a break is this.
If the things outlined in this article are true even a little bit, the government wouldn't be in place.
If war fighters from the last decade were so violent against the government that we're going to carry out these acts, I'm betting on us, not the government.
I'm betting that if we were that pissed off and we were that violent and we were that prone to doing some kind of terrorist act or some extremist act, that we're going to whoop your ass.
And we'll deal with the consequences later, like you taught us to do.
So all this bullshit you put out about how we're extremists and we have a propensity to do it more than anybody else, if that was true, the asshole sitting in those chairs probably wouldn't be sitting in those chairs or at least moving around Washington, D.C. freely.
Because you taught us To not let that happen.
You taught us to destroy our goddamn enemies and targets at any cost.
So which one is it?
Are we the problem or is the government the problem?
And so while we go to a break, please take a second and chew on that.
We'll be right back.
Hey folks, welcome back here to the second segment of the show.
The last segment we were talking about this article that suggests that veterans are more prone to being violent extremists against the United States government.
And I realize that my rant and my cross language probably is exactly the reaction That the folks in power are looking for.
And so, with that said, I'm going to follow that up with, I don't give a shit what you're looking for.
This is the reaction you got because it's heartfelt and it's true.
But let's not...
Jason, let's also not forget that this article was released in mid-2020.
I think it was June, right?
June of 21, actually?
Yeah.
That's when the study began.
Okay, so that's when the study was conducted.
It was released a lot later.
Let's keep in mind that in June of 2021, the United States military and the U.S. government was kicking soldiers and other service members out of their military service because they refused to take some bullshit shot.
At the height of the COVID pandemic, This was what our government was spending taxpayer dollars on.
A study on why veterans are so mad at the government and willing to do these extremist acts, like destroy the Capitol.
That's what they claim.
Well, let me ask you a question.
If you are a banker...
For 35 years, or 25 years, or 15 years, and you've put your heart and soul into it, your blood, sweat, and tears, the amount of money you spent on training and education and this and that and the other thing, and then all of a sudden, somebody told you, you know what, Jason?
Thank you for your service, but I don't know that we're going to allow you to continue to be a banker.
Yeah.
You can, however, save your career by taking the shot that most likely will kill you early, or you can choose to walk away.
Are you going to be pissed at the institution that made you make that decision?
Yeah, I would think.
I mean, it's a pretty simple thing.
It was very polarized, you know, whichever side you were on.
You know, there were a lot of people that, you know, when we were in the middle, I know people I served with That didn't get all the vaccinations.
You know, everybody always says, oh no, you're just getting in that line.
No, we had instances where people had either a religious objection to what was being used in the vaccine or another reason.
It wasn't so uncommon that it was something that nobody knew about.
But this was a zero-tolerance issue.
And it did.
A lot of people were booted from or made very uncomfortable over that time period.
Which, of course, if you're going to be conducting a survey around that time, I mean, you had...
You had so many other things happening that could cause turmoil or strife or an iteration of frequency inside of that modeling that you would use to have to come up with an outcome in a study like this that I wouldn't even waste my time going through the results.
Maybe that's why The study itself was from June of 21 to June of 22.
It was approved for release after Christmas that year, but after 18 months, the working group then finally said it would be made available, and the delay prompted some advocacy groups and other watchdog groups to get involved to get this thing out just last year.
And so, you know, were they trying to figure out what data was actually in there for that long or how much was real, how much wasn't?
You know what I mean?
I mean, there's so many questions about what this study even was when they did it.
Who did it?
It was a group that was started after January 6th.
And immediately within five months, they get a...
They get tasked with producing this research?
I mean, that's pretty quick for a group to come online and then conduct research across the entire military.
I'm sure it's done a sampling.
And then across the veteran network?
During COVID? Where I couldn't...
You know, I couldn't go to the stores that I wanted to without doing things, but somehow during COVID, they were able to do this insanely in-depth survey and study and come up with these results at a time where I couldn't go to City Hall to get a permit for a construction project, where you and I, you know, were forced to go to very particular places at very particular times doing particular things that were completely non-conducive to, like, normal operations, but yet, oh, this actually happened?
Yeah.
Of course, as we discuss it further, it just becomes more and more and more ridiculous.
Right.
Let's not also forget that the way that this was presented to soldiers, and I'm sure that it was presented in many different forms, but I can tell you from my personal experience, the way that this whole...
Because I got out of the Army in February of 2021, was my last month in the United States Army.
And, of course, at that time, they were talking to us about these vaccinations and how, you know, it's not mandatory right now, but it will be.
It could be next week.
We just don't know, but it will be.
And the message to the soldiers was, hey, at some point, the government's going to make this thing mandatory.
So...
Either you take it or you don't.
I guess it's up to you.
But you stand to lose your military career if you don't want to take it.
So think about it and don't be late to formation tomorrow.
Not, hey, this is coming down the pipe.
This could be a huge thing for you, for especially you soldiers who have 16, 18, 20, 22 years in the military.
Who have pensions and retirements they're banking on and considering staying in longer to get a better retirement, to take care of themselves and their families when they decide to leave the military, whenever that is.
But yet you're going to have some sergeant majors stand in front of a formation and go, take it or you don't.
If you don't, we're going to say goodbye to you.
Well, who the hell is going to take that and go, well, yeah, sure, I'll take it, no problem.
Yeah, I'm in.
I'm in.
Let's do that.
Sounds like a great idea.
That's just not how you treat people, first of all.
And it's not lost on me by any means that we're in the military, right?
We do what we say.
We do what we're told.
Do what we told, yes.
We do what they say.
Do what they say, there we go.
Yeah, no, we don't do what we say.
I didn't have that experience.
Sorry, that was my Kamala Harris moment for the week.
But you know what?
I mean, this just leads to this whole other idea that I have, which is kind of off in the weeds, but stick with me here for a second.
The people that were...
And first of all, before I go on to that, I'd love to know, and I will find out.
I'll do the research.
I will admit I haven't done it yet, and I probably should have to be prepared.
Who the hell was on this committee?
Was anybody that was on this committee actually support what the military does?
Does anybody on this committee believe that the United States military can be and should be the strongest fighting force in the world?
Because I believe that on paper we are.
If the powers that be that are doing dumbass surveys and experiments like this would let our soldiers and the military as a whole use all the equipment and munitions and power at its disposal, we'd be unstoppable.
We'd even probably put up a good fight against the aliens that are watching us.
But it's not possible.
They don't let us do that.
They don't let the military do what they need to do to get the job done.
Everyone's got their damn fingers in it.
Well, I'm going to ask you to quit diddling the United States military and let them do what they're supposed to do, which is protect us.
Quit handcuffing these people, and then when you do and they get pissed off about it, quit labeling them as terrorists, homegrown terrorists, the people that chose to put on the damn uniform and defend this place against exactly what you're talking about.
Now they're the problem.
Hmm.
So that leads me to believe that our country...
Should be changing the way that we allow people into elected office.
And so when I ask who was on this panel or whatever the hell it is, it makes me think that anybody that runs for an elected office, like the President of the United States, should probably be required to have some military service under their belt.
And I think that, I mean, who were our greatest presidents?
I would be willing to bet that three to four out of the top five were veterans.
Maybe.
I guess it's all a matter of opinion.
But why are we not requiring the powers that be to have the experience of Of the people that they're calling terrorists or telling to take a shot that may kill them early.
Why don't we require them to be in the military?
Is that far-fetched?
Is that out of line?
I don't think so.
I mean, I would prefer it, but I don't, for myself, I don't want to see it as a non-starter for those that didn't.
You know, sometimes you lose some people, but sometimes it would weed some people out.
So, I get it.
And by the way, it bothered me so much, I was trying to look up that group.
Once you know it, I can't find anything.
Oh, weird.
I can tell you that the Countering Violent Extremism Working Group is housed out of Indonesia and Finland.
So...
Maybe that's their new name.
Who knows?
That's helpful.
That's the group that is going to get right to the bottom of a DOD problem.
Do you think, Jason, that if we required elected officials such as congressmen, senators, and the president to have some sort of military service under their belt, do you think that it would weigh out People that will hurt us more than it would weed out people that help us?
You know, maybe it would be a mark and measure.
You know, maybe it would be something, you know, kind of a barometer for who the people are.
But I think we have so many problems in the political system as it is with the amount of time and the duration that they can spend in politics and a hybrid between the military.
Hell, we were just talking about it earlier.
You know, what does the Secretary of Defense have to do with Raytheon, Nucor, and Tenet Care?
This is a 40-year infantry officer who all of a sudden goes to a board and then weirdly ends up in another political appointment attached to the military, attached to the presidency, attached to this.
I mean, the whole thing stinks so badly that if you had family members doing that in your own household, you wouldn't want them anywhere near you.
It's just too off-putting, right?
Yeah.
And so, you know, do we need to have a mandatory service like other countries do?
Sure, maybe it would help.
Maybe it would help everybody.
But I... I think with all the other things that we have going on, boy, there'd be some pretty quick takeaways that we could implement that could nip some of this in the bud right away.
Yeah, and maybe it's one of those situations where the current state of things in our country, it's a dire situation.
That maybe it's necessary now and it wouldn't be necessary 20 years from now or 10 years from now or whatever.
But it's just every week, man, every time that I sit down to look for ideas, for content, for things to talk about on this show to the audience that watches it and make it meaningful content,
we always find something that That proves or strongly suggests that we're able to find proof just by a short period of research that they're screwing us over again and again and again.
And when they're not screwing us over, well, we're the problem and maybe we should look into the veterans.
Oh, or guess what?
We got some new thing to F over the American people.
Let's test it out on the vets first.
Right.
And the truth is...
Go ahead.
That never happens.
Well, I don't know.
I don't know if it doesn't.
Of course it does.
I think it happens all the time.
We're the Petri dish for America.
But if you guys think that what the military has is the best, that's like military-grade anything, and then you're going to apply that to your personal life?
Like, I think, didn't Ford run that whole ad?
You know, military-grade, you know, all-aluminum frame.
Yeah.
Military grade is a whole new level of shit.
It's shit plus.
It's not the best thing available.
I mean, Humvees are naturally aspirated diesel engines.
There's no turbo.
There's like 44 horsepower underneath that 6,500 pound shell.
That's military tough.
You've got more power in your suburban hatchback.
Now, which one's tougher?
I mean, if you put them back-to-back, that one's going to tear.
My wife's minivan is going to destroy the Humvee.
And so everything that we hear about in the military, like, this is how it's going to be, you know they're doing it with her health care.
They know they're doing it with all these other pieces.
It's just a matter of time.
But how refreshing would it be, bro, if we're looking to research?
Every time that you and I are talking, it's about something negative because it is so...
Boy, I almost said the one, the big one.
It's so rare that we see something positive.
Like, you and I know positive things that are happening in our small community touch, you know, the vets.
But there's never anything other than division and turmoil and toxicity being discussed at any level.
And it's always being hurled from the same people at everybody else.
And it's All the people are the normals.
And it's like the political elites are going to divide and throw and shit spew and everything else to get everybody else all pissed off.
And we're not even realizing that they're throwing shit at every one of us.
It doesn't matter who you are, what you are.
It just so happens that we pay attention to the veteran stuff because that's the thing that we care about the most.
Right.
Sorry.
No, no, that's perfect.
Because you're absolutely right.
There is a ton of positive things to talk about in our communities, but there's not a whole lot of positivity to be talked about on a national level as it pertains to veterans or military people.
Now, there are some articles out there about this Navy corpsman moved on to be the best heart surgeon in Massachusetts or whatever.
I mean, there's those kinds of articles out there.
But on a national stage, on things that affect us as a community nationally...
It's very rare that we find something that's positive enough to talk about with, you know, 60 to 90,000 people a week.
The last thing that we talked about maybe that was super positive was when the PACT Act passed, but it was very quickly that we learned that that was all bullshit too.
Right.
But it got all this attention because Jonathan Stewart or whatever the hell his name is went on some crusade outside the Supreme Court building or the Capitol building or wherever the hell he was at with all these people huddled around him, you know, diddling his bunghole.
That's stupid.
Right.
Why are we not doing more as a government than...
Why are we not doing more positive things for veterans?
And again, like I say all the time, bro, I've had many positive interactions with VA employees at VA facilities.
I've had many positive interactions with other people in the veteran services industry.
But as a whole, The majority of the reports that you read and the words and sentences that you hear from other people are all negative.
Right.
I would say that 90%, 85% to 90% of the people you talk to all have some kind of negative story about how they went to try to find help or receive information about their benefits and And either nobody knows what they're talking about, they don't want to take the time to help you, or they're just nobody to talk to.
Right.
Well, it's almost like it's a situation that's set up to fail.
And when all the conversations are negative, people in my friend group are absolutely shocked when I tell them I go to the VA for healthcare.
They're like, huh?
You do that?
100%.
I mean, not that I like to talk about colonoscopies.
But man, that shit is down to an art.
I hear other people tell me what their first colonoscopy was like, and I hear that show in the duration.
Dude, I'm in the VA. I'm out there in like 54 minutes.
The coffee sucked, but it's super simple.
It's easy.
They do so many of these that they are probably some of the best professionals in the industry at doing it just based upon pure volume.
You're going to get better at something.
And that's what the VA is.
The VA is a place where it's replicated at such high volumes in comparison.
To other facilities that the people that they have there become subject matter experts very quickly.
And those are skills that don't go away.
So when people talk about, you can't believe I go to the VA, you know, if you have the ability to be able to go there and utilize that, you know, that benefit, I'd be shocked when people don't go there.
You know, but I don't think there's a lot of people out there that would think that way, do you?
Well, no, I don't.
And maybe this show doesn't do a good job at promoting the use of a VA facility.
But I would remind people that majority of the topics that we choose to conversate about, is conversate even a word?
I don't think so.
Have conversation around.
Majority of the topics that we choose to have conversation around are at a high level and the ripples And consequences of those actions that we discuss, they do affect us.
They do affect us on a grand stage, but I think that a lot of folks don't really get to grasp that.
They don't really understand that because...
When they go to the VA clinic, the person checking them in is awesome.
She might have baked cookies and offered you a cookie.
And then the guy that takes your blood pressure is just another old crusty veteran in scrubs that's talking to you about his time in Vietnam and it's pleasant and you guys have good conversation.
And then the doctor seems to care about you a little bit or a lot a bit.
Right?
And maybe that's, even though we're past New Year's, maybe that's a New Year's resolution for 24 is to at some point If it's a couple times a month, highlight something positive in all this negativity.
Maybe that's part of one of the things that you and I discuss when I'm fortunate enough to be on with you, that we at least pick one thing to speak on that is positive.
Yeah.
Hey, I'm okay committing to that.
I'm alright to committing to that.
But...
There's gotta be positive stuff to talk about.
There's gotta be out there.
I know we see it and we glance over it.
Maybe, just maybe.
I mean, you gotta hit the big ones.
Like, this is a huge issue.
This is a community-wide issue, what we discussed today.
And maybe those things, as small as they are, it's some of those things that we get that you're fortunate enough and I'm fortunate enough to be in a group of normal people where we have other veteran contacts, where we get to hear these stories of communities reaching out to wrap these veterans in love when they're at their darkest place.
And maybe bring some of those stories along for the ride here in 24 might be a wonderful, wonderful opportunity.
Yeah, I agree a thousand percent.
I agree a thousand percent.
And I think that we should commit to doing that.
I'm in to do that.
But to close this, let's not skip over this one.
We're not done yet.
We still got about six minutes left.
But here's one thing that this whole article, this whole conversation makes me think about.
It makes me think that it's possible...
That everything we've ever been taught about what this country was founded on, how it was defended, how it was won, how it was kept free, is all bullshit.
The narrative that was put out by the powers that be was all bullshit.
But here's the catch, is that we all bought in.
We all bought into it.
So if it is bullshit, well, guess what?
That's too bad because I'm already on board with defending the greatest nation that the world has ever known and making it that way again because we're not right now.
And so if the powers that be in the government and the high echelons of military leadership really don't care about how we got what we got and what it took for us to keep it, That's too bad because I've already bought into the false narrative if it is a false narrative.
And they're not going to get me to change my mind because my whole military career, my whole 19 years of wearing a uniform was all predicated on the fact that I believe.
I believe that this country is great and I believe that it's worth defending and preserving for future generations to come.
And although they got the reaction out of me that they wanted because I flew off the handle and I got sweat underneath my man boobs, I'm so upset.
I've bought in.
And I'm not turning back now.
And I think that many other veterans share the same exact feeling about it.
So now that you're poking the bear, I'm going to say, be careful.
Because you're not going to take the ideals of democracy and freedom and this proverbial blanket of protection that we once provided and others are providing now.
You're not going to talk me out of that idea.
So, it is what it is.
And it kind of pains me to think that that might even possibly be true.
But all this stuff makes it seem that way.
We're talking about how it's hard for us to find positive things on a national stage to talk about.
Well...
What is their positive?
What are they giving us that's positive, that even gives us the idea that anybody in government or high stages of military leadership give a shit about democracy and defending this freedom and taking care of the men and women that chose to do it?
Right.
They don't give us a whole lot to be excited about and to talk about and get warm and fuzzy about.
Well, you're chuckling because I said they don't give us a lot to be excited.
I'm real excited, but not in a good way.
Yeah, but that's the reality.
You know, as nice as it would be to be positive, there's not a lot out there.
And that's not just true for the veteran community and the things that we hear.
There's not a lot positive out there for regular American civilians and citizens right now.
I don't know.
I don't know.
Well, I would go out on a limb and say this.
To anybody listening or watching this show that is a veteran of the United States military, we got you.
And we appreciate your service.
100%.
It was my honor to wear a uniform and sacrifice everything, potentially, for you, for this country, for the idea of this country.
And everything else that it stands for.
So although you may share the same idea I do, this bullshit that they put out is not who we are.
Not one bit.
And I don't care what some panel says made up of a bunch of dippity-doos that probably never served in the military to begin with.
But I appreciate it.
I know that Jason appreciates you.
And there's a whole lot of other people in this country that appreciate you and us.
So, if nothing else, there's our positive moment of the day.
Jason, we got about two and a half minutes left.
I'm going to give you some time to give us a final thought.
What do you want people to remember about this conversation?
Other than me using the word conversate.
I don't know, conversation was pretty...
That was pretty amazing.
I was trying to go back to a movie that I heard that used in, but I'm going to leave it out until later.
You know, it's just...
It's odd.
The timing of things...
This particular study really gets me, because I know there was a moment in time where the politicians appointed above us, who voted above us, said some very, very There are very, very distinct things about the veteran culture in the community.
It feels to me like studies like this continually get created to maybe substantiate these outlandish claims.
So when I see a lack of resolve to put something like this together, get it put together and get it out immediately, like, you know, if you had really good...
Yep.
You're going to want that out right away.
So it rings true with the statement that went forward.
And so as unfortunate as this is, this went out and it says the things that it says.
I think if you think back to 2021 and that time and that transition and those words spoken and what this was looking for and the fact that it took until the end of 2023 for this to come out, that gives me a lot of hope that what was being spoke was bullshit.
And they couldn't create enough bullshit to make the bullshit good.
And so with that being said, they just threw out a little bit of bullshit and it didn't get a big ripple.
And that was a lot of them right there.
Sorry.
Very well said.
And you know what?
I'm going to go on a limb and say this.
This particular show and this particular topic just called for an overabundance of bullshit.
So don't feel bad.
It's okay.
We've run out of time, folks.
I want to thank you for joining us.
And again, I want to reiterate that whatever this says, whatever that 200-something-odd page report says, the last thing that anybody should be able to take from it is that we are violent extremists and we want to attack our government.
The reality is we want to be left alone.
We want to be given the things that you promised us.
If it was never promised to me, I wouldn't expect it.
And so with that said, before I get off on another rant and get over time, we're going to go for the evening.
Thank you for joining us.
Take care of each other.
Be well, and we'll see you next week.
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