Demand the media put attention everyday on the 22 PER DAY average of veteran suicides, just as they made the 54 American hostages in Iran the lead story in the news everyday for over a year in 1979-81. Thousands of veterans in despair deserve this attention as if it were a national crisis, because it is a national crisis.
Why is this important?
When something shames us, we, and the media prefer to ignore it, but difficult problems need constant attention or they get lost. When there is one tragic death causing protests, we see it in the news everyday for weeks, yet we forget that 22 American veterans are dying a tragic death EVERYDAY and it has been going on for YEARS! Are thousands of veterans worth the same attention as one or a few tragic urban killings? This is a national crisis deserving constant national attention. Our veterans in despair need the help that could come if we would prevent their plight from getting lost among all the other much smaller tragedies.
