In recognition of Veterans Day, this Old Mole offers a rebroadcast of a 2022 episode of Against the Grain. Sasha Lilley talks with Suzanne Gordon and Steve Early about their book, Our Veterans: Winners, Losers, Friends, and Enemies on the New Terrain of Veterans Affairs (Duke University Press, 2022).
Veterans are a prominent symbol in U.S. politics, evoking patriotism and military might. The right recruits them and they populate the police, private security, and often militia groups. But the struggles of veterans, and those currently working for the military, should be of concern for the left, argue Suzanne Gordon and Steve Early. They discuss the always non-union labor of military work, attempts to privatize veterans’ healthcare, and the political orientation of veterans and the organizations claiming to represent them.
We also remind you of KBOO's own Veterans Voice Radio Show, with Northwest Veterans for Peace, dealing with matters of war and peace as well as with veterans health issues and the after effects of war: broadcasting every 3rd Friday of the month from 9:00am to 10:00am.
Image: Fair use image of cover of the book Our Veterans: Winners, Losers, Friends, and Enemies on the New Terrain of Veterans Affairs by Suzanne Gordon, Steve Early, Jasper Craven, showing a photo of a march on a street with, in the foreground, people of diverse races, genders, and uniforms holding up one end of a large American flag.
- KBOO