Thoughts from Dr. Joe: Why vets can't forget

“Why do so many veterans cling to pain?” he asked. “There’s nothing you can do about the past.”

His analysis was prophetic, but all I could lend to the conversation was a simple smile. Jack knew I liked quotes, so he left me with a good one from the Tao Te Ching: “When I let go of what I am, I become what I might be.”

Jack is a writer and a professor who knows the field of psychology; his opinions are consummate. His argument was inclusive of the intellectual jargon found in the subjectivity of philosophy and psychology. In a perfect world he had found the path toward emotional peace. His implication was that the veteran needs only to follow it.

Maybe there’s credence to Jack’s contention that forgetting brings peace. But, it’s not a perfect world, is it?

I contemplated Jack’s remarks, trying to bridge the gap between his textbook solution to the morose reality of going to war and returning as a veteran.

“Hey, Joe!”

I looked up; it was my buddy Lenny Torres, who is married to Valley Sun columnist Anita Brenner. Lenny is a Vietnam vet who served with Marine Special Forces. I anticipated some conversation, hoping to alleviate the heaviness that I felt. However, as a prelude to Veterans Day, Lenny spoke of the transitional difficulties that current veterans will have and the subsequent effects on society.

“Because of protracted wars, and the hundreds of thousands who have served, veterans will become a social movement,” Lenny said.