One major difference between the civil war and the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq is that today many soldiers survive "gut shots" and other devastating injuries due to immediate and superior medical treatment on the field of battle. The military is rightly proud of this. The awful tragedy is that many of these same soldiers are sent home with latent mental health problems, such as post traumatic stress disorder, and inadequate benefits and support. They find themselves ostracized by the military and at home by the stigma associated with mental illness. Homeless and suffering with the overwhelming agonies of their mental illnesses and brain injuries, many soldiers have chosen suicide as preferable to living on the streets alongside the mentally ill non-combatants whom our society as a whole has also abandoned.

Some 150 years after the civil war, we have done Matthew Brady one up. He delivered thousands of photographs of our wounded, dying or dead soldiers to doorstops of America. Today, we are delivering the soldiers themselves, where they take their own lives or die a slow an anguished death at our feet, while we and our government talk about patriotism, border security, the economy and international trade agreements.

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Please remember, this writing reflects my own experience and opinions. If you, or a loved one, are experiencing the symptoms of schizophrenia, or any other mental illness, you should seek professional assistance.