When I was 9 years old, I broke my one of my mother's ceramic knick-knacks. Miraculously, a 9-year-old can have the deft hands of a surgeon, and half a bottle of Elmer's glue later order was again restored.
On the surface nothing seemed amiss, until the day my mother tapped it against another curio. Again it shattered, revealing the tell-tale marks of glue. I had been caught and reluctantly submitted to my punishment.
Now, as an adult, I have a social responsibility to others.
A month ago I broke my roommate's iPod by dropping it. I admitted to the accident without having to be caught by a third party, paid to have the device repaired, and there were no hard feelings.
I expect this sort of social responsibility from others, including individuals, companies and governments.
I believe this is a common sentiment throughout our society.
Somehow, as the individuals and governments become further removed from our society, they begin to shed the burden of social responsibility.
The shedding of this responsibility has been especially noticeable lately within the U.S. government and armed forces interaction.
In March 2003 the troops were thrown into this conflict with Iraq without a thorough plan or understanding of the situation. They went with inadequate vehicle armor, personal armor and sometimes training. The troops have become the rope in a political tug of war, resulting in their constant confusion about rules of engagement and chain of command.
The mental health of these returning veterans has been a source of quiet debate within the media, Veterans Affairs and government for the last couple of years. I know soldiers at Ball State University who sometimes only barely control their feelings of violence and thirst for alcohol, and I know one who when driving down a dark highway experiences traumatic flashbacks due to the lights reflecting off windshields.
The most current atrocity has been the substandard care received at Walter Reed Army Medical Center - the supposed crown jewel of veteran's care.
Within this center wounded veterans are experiencing moldy ceilings, mouse droppings, cockroaches, lack of heat, cold water and administrative nightmares. It is slowing coming to light that these problems have been quietly discussed for years, but it took a third party - the media, as usual - to bring these problems to a point where the government felt it appropriate to handle the situation.
Reading a Washington Post article on the situation gave me immediate recollection of early scenes of Oliver Stone's "Born on the Fourth of July." Early in the film, Stone portrays Marine Sgt. Kovic's wounding in Vietnam and neglectful and abusive treatment at a Bronx Veterans Affairs hospital.
While the level of incompetence and neglect at Walter Reed does not appear to have reached the level experienced by Kovic, it seems to be approaching fairly fast.
It is an understanding that mistakes happen at all levels of society, but it seems the involvement of large numbers of individuals with the intelligence levels contained within the halls of the government should keep those mistakes from repeating and getting out of control.
From day one of basic training a Marine is taught he can overcome any situation with what he is given. Raw recruits are literally told if they are given two rocks and a stick and ordered to assault a hill they will accomplish the mission in time for evening formation.
I acknowledge the slight humor in the situation and take great pride in the "can-do" attitude of the men who enthusiastically absorb this mentality. This sort of attitude emblazons governmentally created teams, platoons and battalions with a tangible soul and is a cornerstone in mission accomplishment and troop welfare.
With the willingness of our society to require these men to adopt this attitude comes the social responsibility to adopt that attitude when these men fall during the course of their profession.
We, society and the government, have again failed those who have never failed us, and I am greatly ashamed of that.
Write to Jason atjlhodson@bsu.edu
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