Could it be that there is something about the steady exposure to stories of the horror of war that twists the psyche?
I spoke today with a friend who is a Muslim soldier stationed at Fort Hood. He and Hasan prayed side-by-side at the mosque the morning of the massacre. He agreed to share his story with me if I granted him anonymity.
My Thanksgiving wish is to understand why political correctness is a reflection of important American values, even when they exact terrible costs, as they did in the Fort Hood massacre.
Major Nidal Malik Hasan was not a bad person. He was even possibly a good person. But he was a very sick person who did a terrible thing.
This misfortune points toward major flaws in our mental health system for military personnel, including the mental health of psychiatrists, psychologists and counselors treating our troops.
Claims that mental health workers are at risk for PTSD from treating their patients add an unnecessary layer of confusion to the question of how we can best serve our veterans.
A well trained psychiatrist or psychologist is not driven into violent frenzy by dealing with the trauma of soldiers, nor do they acquire those soldiers' emotional wounds vicariously.
The media, once again, fell hook, line and sinker for a military account of what happened during the tragedy.
