informs people how the government wants to continue protecting veterans headstones to acknowledge the services they have done for the nation. The author’s purpose is to persuade and educate readers the significance it is to guard these cemeteries because of what history and pride these men and women hold in our country. The author supports its argument by saying if we continue protecting the Confederate cemeteries, it would eliminate threats and vandalism. This is not at all persuasive nor logical. For example, the U.S. government threatens that we will go to war with Korea. This threat has been going on for years in a matter of fact. So how can guarding statues and headstones remove threats? There will be nothing to be eliminated completely. A threat is something said towards an action it doesn’t mean that is promised. Also, vandalism has enforced policies for destructed properties. And with the U.S. being so advanced within technology it’s easy to find the suspect. I strongly disagree, I believe the government should not be spending millions of dollars to protect the Confederate cemeteries for past veterans. Instead, the government should be spending their money on how to better provide for our current and future veterans.
From my personal experiences, whenever I am driving around the city of Austin, I am constantly seeing a homeless veteran on street corners asking for food on a torn piece of cardboard. I then ask myself “If this person was a past veteran, why are they on the streets? Shouldn’t they be living comfortably since they served our nation?” It is very disappointing to see how much our government cares for the people who risk their lives for our country. Especially for those who have served long terms. If the government were to spend more money on investing housing to our veterans, it could possibly reduce homelessness. With having more affordable housing plans for our veterans, it will ease the stress for people to find a job.
Another issue our veterans suffer from is not having proper healthcare. The government has provided a broken program for the past several years due to budget gaps. I always see T.V. programs asking for donations to help our disabled veterans. In most cases, whoever is narrating the programs, they reference back to how the government only gave them a certain dollar amount but it wasn’t enough to cover all the medical expenses and to fix their needs. The government needs to accommodate better healthcare. Most people enlist in the army to have these benefits because they can’t afford them. However, if the government is only offering so little, how can our soldiers rely on healthcare for future crises? For veterans who are disabled, they lose a lot of their motor skills and aren’t able to do daily living tasks like bathing, feeding and or toileting. This is due to the lack of medical support and health prescriptions. With having various healthcare options we can save and prolong more lives. With the government providing better benefits veterans can receive the proper care to help them recover or adjust to their lifestyles.
Lastly, the government should advance in improving educational benefits for our veterans. Many people sign up for the army to further their education. For example, if someone wishes to obtain a higher degree in education, they have to go through an honorable review board first to see if they are illegible. Afterward, if they want to continue past a bachelor’s degree, and they notice they are running out of time on complete their schooling or they’re running out of money, they then have to apply for the Texas Hazelwodd Act. The Hazelwood Act gives veterans opportunities to accomplish their goals. In this case, it does not guarantee that you are in. You still have to wait to be granted money to continue going to school. In addition, this law is only established through certain states. I believe if the government wants their veterans to have an education and be knowledgeable, they should make the Hazelwood Act law available in all states. The Hazelwood Act grants veterans up to one hundred and fifty hours of tuition. However, if it’s only offered in Texas and or through other small states. How can anyone make a living with no educational background? If the Hazelwood Act was equal to all states it would benefit the government from having more people to enlist in the army. In addition, we would have a stronger support system when going to war with other countries.
The government needs to stop this waste fraud and abuse towards our veterans and consider the compromise theory or also known as the zero-sum theory. John Nash, a mathematician for economics created the “You win some, you lose some”. This applies to whether we should continue supporting these confederate cemeteries or using the governments money for another purpose. For people who will argue that these passed veterans deserve acknowledgment... Do they know what truly lies beneath them? What if the Confederate soldiers who were buried happened to be the people who started the war? Or who secretly fought under oaths for another country? Would people still want to protect them for the crimes they did? Many people don’t know that the Confederate soldiers supported slavery. So what is the difference that Confederate soldiers are being protected more than our union soldiers? The union soldiers have gone through the same battles and they don’t get the same honorary, respect of having their burial guarded. In order to determine who are suspects, the government would have to do background checks. And with background checks, every veteran would have to be examined for a proper burial and protection. Although it would cost a big fee, that's the dice people have to roll. Others will argue that we don’t have to spend millions of dollars on security. Instead, the government can simply find another affordable funding who will offer the same protection at a lower cost. And there is always the option of cremating which in fact is less expensive than having a funeral service; which eliminates having a headstone to guard. In this critique, I would have to argue that the government should reduce funding guarding Confederate cemeteries and focus on what really matters to our veterans.
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