It is well known that veterans have the opportunity to pursue a college education after they have served. The problem is students do not know how to appropriately approach or interact with them. Society has even been led to fear them. Edward Palm, author of, “The Veterans are Coming! The Veterans are Coming!”, uses his personal experience to argue that there are five applications of “common sense” to be used when interacting with veterans. Because Palm very effectively uses Ethos in his argument, along with the connotation that veteran interaction is simply “common sense”, any “typical” CU student would more than likely be persuaded. Although Palm’s argument is already very well constructed, there are still some changes he could have made to …show more content…
Overall, the issue is society does not how how to interact with veterans, especially on college campuses. He notes that when he went to college, some people felt compelled to thank him or ensure he was welcomed on campus, which just made him feel uneasy. Just like any “typical” student, Palm was on campus simply just trying to find himself and earn a degree. Another issue Palm discusses is the fear of veterans that has been instilled on campus. Students and faculty fear veterans because they have associated PTSD with danger. Therefore, veterans are viewed as a threat on campus. Palm denotes this by stating,
“...the great majority of PTSD sufferers are not disruptive or violent and should not be viewed as such until or unless they provide reasonable cause.” (pg.792)
Palm also makes a great point in proving the fear of veterans is absolutely ridiculous. He says,
“In all fairness, I have no doubt that these symposia are worthwhile, and I will take it on faith that the organizers are not viewing a potential influx of veterans as a threat to campus safety and simply want to be prepared...Most faculty and administrators, I would hope, realize that, of all the horrific campus shooting we have heard about in recent years, not one of the perpetrators was a military veteran.”
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794).
In summation, Palm is basically advising his audience to treat the veterans as you would any other student, and to not ask questions, or initiate or avoid conversations that you would not normally ask, initiate, or avoid. Because Palm seems reasonably credible (due to the fact that he is a veteran and presumably should know what he is talking about) and has also implied that these steps were “common sense”, it would be highly unlikely for the audience to not be persuaded. However, no argument is perfect and could always use some improvement to make it even stronger. Palm’s biggest fault in his argument is the use of the fallacy generalization. When explaining the five steps in how veterans should be treated, he explains it as though it should be applied to every single veteran in existence. It should be noted that using this fallacy makes sense, because to the audience Palm seems to know what he is talking about when he explaining how veterans should be treated, what they do and do not like about others’ interactions with them and so on. Therefore, it would make sense that he states to “generally” treat all veterans the same. However, because he does so, Palm sometimes fails to address or even acknowledge that not every veteran is the same. It is very possible that there are some veterans who do not mind being thanked for their service by strangers. There may very well be veterans who do not mind answering people’s questions. For some,
Murray, and Deborah are among some 50,000 veterans who are homeless, or 1.4 million who are considered at risk of homelessness on any given day, due to poverty, lack of support networks, and marginal living conditions in substandard housing, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. They, and all those who put on the uniforms of our nation 's armed services, sacrifice so much to defend the freedoms that we all enjoy and take for granted. Far too many, however, come home unable to defend themselves from the ravages of combat.” (Cole, 2015, Para. 23). Cole also goes on to continue stating “Providing shelter to our female and male veterans is not enough; it is simply one step. The transition from soldier to civilian is often the most difficult part of a veteran 's life. Yet the hardships of going from combat to job application, mortgage payments and working a typical 9-to-5 job, far too often are after-thoughts on the post-military agenda. It is no wonder that long after their active tours, many veterans continue to fight to reclaim their health and well-being.(Cole, 2015, Para.
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The reality that shapes individuals as they fight in war can lead to the resentment they have with the world and the tragedies that they had experienced in the past. Veterans are often times overwhelmed with their fears and sensations of their past that commonly disables them to transgress and live beyond the emotions and apprehensions they witness in posttraumatic experiences. This is also seen in everyday lives of people as they too experience traumatic events such as September 11th and the fall of the World Trade Center or simply by regrets of decisions that is made. Ones fears, emotions and disturbances that are embraced through the past are the only result of the unconscious reality of ones future.
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A profession must have the trust of the people it serves. This is gained through the use of an Ethic that is generated and policed by the profession itself. The Center for Army Profes...
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Veteran’s healthcare has recently been the subject of much discussion within American political circles. However, most ordinary Americans know little of this burning issue. Although support for veterans has risen to its highest levels compared to other times in American history, veterans need more than support to survive; they ne...
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