Military Families Offer a Lesson to Civilian Counterparts

By Dr. Vivian Greentree

Director of BlueStar Families

Our military community has come to the forefront of public discussion of late.  The long-term effects of 10 years of sustained combat on service members, their families, and the communities where they live is something that can’t be relegated to the Department of Defense, the Department of Veterans Affairs, and other traditional military community players.  It will take a community centric approach to address wicked problems like reintegration, veteran employment and homelessness, mental health and the general wellness of our military families.

Thankfully our military community abounds with qualities like resilience, public service motivation, and social connectedness that lend themselves to maintaining a healthy, thriving society.

Many military families have the same life experiences common to many families, including balancing work and family, parenting issues such as care-giving and education concerns, and maintaining healthy relationships. They also have unique stressors relating to the requirements of the military lifestyle. We are more likely to move than our civilian peers; we have added stresses on our relationships and mental health and wellness related to repeated deployment cycles and the reintegration process when our service members come home.

Our service member’s job affects our family in a way that other employers don’t. Some have called it a “greedy institution” – meaning they can tell us where to live, when to move, how to dress, and we face uncertainties about the safety of our loved ones when they deploy.

However, there is a lot of strength that develops and flourishes in the military community.  In fact, I was so interested in that strength and some of the ties between military family resiliency and civic engagement, that Blue Star Families added a special section to our its 2012 Military Family Lifestyle Survey this year.

There is plenty of research out there that suggests the more connected you are to people and the more tied in you feel to others, the healthier you are.  Oour findings do indicate that military families engage in the types of social and civic behaviors that build healthy, vibrant communities.

We build strength in our connections to one another during deployments when we work together to support each other. These informal networks help us to thrive in our communities and stay engaged with each other’s past military service.

Each challenge that we face, for example during a deployment, is also an opportunity for personal growth in the ability to overcome a challenge and come out stronger on the other side. We are often more competent, more secure, and better able to face the next challenge or to support someone else facing the same situation.

So, though there are unique challenges, they are accompanied by some very valuable, if intangible benefits to being affiliated with the military lifestyle – pride in service, connection to a greater cause in life, satisfaction with the contribution to society, development of an indomitable sense of civic virtue, and this personal growth and development of inner reserves of strength; the intrinsic power that comes from overcoming challenges and growing from them.

Our survey results also point to the strong pro-social tendencies and civic assets that reside within the military community. Respondents in the survey volunteered at incredible rates; both informal and formal volunteering and voting behavior, and charitable and altruistic activities all had high levels of respondent participation.   For example, eighty-nine percent of respondents were registered to vote. And, in the last presidential election, eighty-two percent of respondents said they voted.   Eighty-one percent of respondents said they had volunteered in the past year.  And impressively, ten percent of respondents volunteer time that is the equivalent of a part-time job.  Perhaps most strikingly, even given some of the challenges already mentioned, a large majority would still recommend military service to their children, are satisfied with the military lifestyle, support the continued service of their service member, and think the all volunteer force has worked well. That is very powerful!  Even given the known sacrifices, even after the deployments, the separations, and the very real wear and tear on our service families, they would still encourage their own children to sign up for military service.  Think about that.

The concept of social capital would suggest that the complex, informal networks and relationships that are developed through the military family experience (e.g. building trust, reciprocity, informal volunteering, shared sacrifice, and cooperation between families) are the building blocks for a communitarian approach to democracy that values service and sees it as an important way to contribute to the public good. Really, as a vital source of strength for any community.  This is why emphasis on service and volunteerism is such an effective, vivid bridge between the military and civilian populations with regard to the experiences of modern day military families.  Military families know they must rely on one another in order to benefit the whole of their community and have learned that service to others can, in fact, be a healing gesture for themselves.

Trust, hope, a sense of integrity, accomplishment, versatility. Tolerance, compassion, and generosity.  Yes we have challenges, but when we overcome them, it is incredibly powerful. We derive strength from them and we grow from them. Ultimately, it is what makes for the amazing, strong, competent, thoughtful, resourceful, engaging people who make up our military community.  Maybe we are the lucky ones and maybe that is exactly why we would recommend this amazing lifestyle to our children.

So, if there is one thing I could pass on to my civilian friends, a strength from our community, which has been forged through 10 years of war, it would be to appreciate each other. Revel in your relationships and in your communities.  Ask how you can help others and realize that you are only as strong as your weakest link.  Talk unabashedly about what the words honor, courage, commitment, and the public interest mean.  We all need think of each other as battle buddies, in sickness and in health, because we are stronger when we work together and when we cherish our connections to each other.  That is the best way to honor service.  With service. With compassion. With being generous with yourself, of your talents, your resources, and your heart.

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Vivian Greentree, Ph.D., is Blue Star Families’ Director of Research and Policy and a co-founder of the organization.  A Navy veteran and military spouse, Vivian’s areas of public policy research include civic engagement, public service motivation, and military family community policy. She was recently named a Daily Point of Light by the Points of Light Institute for her volunteer work.  The Greentree’s are the proud parents of two future Naval aviators, ages 5 and 8.

Photo Credit: ksfamilylaw.com, bluestarfamilies, 2012serviceimpact.challenge.gov

Can this Sea be Saved?

California, awash in red ink, may axe a Council that has never met in its 16-month existence.  Called the Salton Sea Restoration Council, it was to jump start restoration efforts at California’s largest lake and one of the world’s most storied bodies of water.

Following events at the Salton Sea is a little like reading an overblown paperback novel where the writer should have shown restraint and ended the story after the first chapter.  The lake itself, literally burst on the scene in 1905 when the Colorado River slammed through under-constructed irrigation canals and changed course. With nowhere else to go, water poured into the Salton Basin for nearly 18 months.  The river was finally stopped, after five tries and untold losses, in 1907. By then, the lake was about 40 miles long and 13 miles wide, covering over 400 square miles.

The colossal accident set in motion a completely new set of events.  Located in one of the lowest spots on earth, the area had been the site of historic flooding and seasonal marshes.  By 1906 observers were already reporting large concentrations of waterfowl, pelicans, and other birds in the area. Originally filled with fresh water, the Sea soon became a fishing Mecca and celebrities began frequenting what was called the inland Riviera.

With no new source of water, the lake should have evaporated away in 20 or 30 years, but in the 1920s President Coolidge designated it as an agricultural sump. Run-off and drainage from the Imperial and Coachella valleys, rich in the fertilizers, created a vibrant ecosystem at the Sea. Along with fish and other water wildlife, more than 400 species of birds – the second highest bird count in the country – have been spotted. Today millions of birds migrate along the Pacific Flyway.

Barely 50 feet at its deepest point, the same amount of water enters the lake as exits through evaporation. Annually, four million tons of dissolved salt, and tens of thousands of tons of fertilizers flow in but don’t leave. Salinity at the Sea is now 25 percent saltier than the ocean.

By the 1980’s grave problems had surfaced.  The fishery declined, periodic algal blooms occurred, and dramatic die-offs of fish and birds began. In the 1990’s high concentrations of selenium were found in the eggs of egrets and night heron and a paper detailed defects in fish embryos.

In 1993, California set up the Salton Sea Authority to work on maintaining beneficial uses of the lake. The Authority, which later actively opposed formation of the endangered Restoration Council, collected suggestions for remediation and formed action plans. In 1997-98, Congress established a Salton Sea Task Force and passed the Salton Sea Reclamation Act, requiring the Interior Department to report on the sea and propose a plan by January 1, 2000. Then, on August 4, 1999, an estimated 7.6 million fish died in one day, the largest die-off ever in the sea and hundreds of thousands of birds have died since.

While the Salton Sea has substituted for historic wetlands in the area, it is now a death sentence for some of its in habitants. Previous efforts to address the problems have faltered—usually due to lack of both money and public demand.

The Sea is now a ticking time bomb as large volumes of agricultural water that originally drained in the lake are planned to be diverted to support urban areas.  Legal agreements about who will get water kick in by 2017.  With less and less water, and without extreme intervention – the sea will likely keep evaporating and go dead.  Meanwhile, a potential hero of the story, the Restoration Council, is in peril.

Death of the sea will not be romantic, in addition to loss of wildlife habitat and the local agricultural economy, the evaporating lakebed will generate dust filled with pollutants.  This will add to statistics showing  20.2% of the region’s children are diagnosed with asthma, compared with the 13.7%.national average.  Imperial County, the location of the lake, consistently has the highest asthma hospitalization rate of all California counties.

The Salton Sea Authority has commitment but say funds and a scientific basis for solutions are lacking.  Critics, looking at rows of reports and millions of dollars spent on studies, call for action.  Still experts say no, numerous in-depth and extensive studies are needed to understand the complex issues affecting the Sea. Previous studies have been sporadic, narrow in scope, and not connected to a plan of action.

Meanwhile, most of the people working on the issue just hope complete ecological and economic disaster can somehow be averted. The last chapter in this story hasn’t been written.  Let’s hope for a happy ending

College Students Denied Voting Rights

On March 23, 1971, Congress passed the 26^th Amendment. It was ratified and went into effect on July 1, 1971 and states, “The right of citizens of the United States, who are eighteen years of age or older, to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of age”.

Although the 26^th Amendment clearly express that our young adult population has the right to vote, student-voting registration in particular has long been an issue. Furthermore, in recent years states have implemented voting laws that are more complex, confusing and restrictive; unfairly targeting college students since this group often has trouble establishing residency where they live and attend school.

Instead of policy makers encouraging college students to participate in America’s democratic voting process, they are making the practice of basic civil rights extremely difficult. Such is the case for the upcoming elections. Thousands of college student will be attempting to register to vote, but will be turned away because they either have an out-state driver’s license or told that their college ID is not valid to cast their vote, among other reasons. It has also become very evident that Republican state lawmakers are openly doing everything possible to prevent students from voting in the 2012 presidential election simply because college students tend to be more liberal.

New Hampshire, among other Republican states, has already passed strict voting ID laws that will bar thousands of college students from voting in the community in which they live and attend school. New Hampshire Republican House Speaker, William O’Brien, in a recent speech to a Tea Party group stated, “They’re foolish, voting as liberals. That’s what kids do.” He also stated, “Students lack life experience and they just vote their feelings.”

It has become apparent that an objective of the Republican Party is to restrict the voting rights of certain demographic groups that tend to vote Democrat. One way of achieving this is stop college students from voting by claiming that stricter ID laws are necessary to prevent fraudulent voting. Unfortunately, with the severe federal penalties imposed on fraudulently voting there are hardly any cases to cite.

Opponents of the restrictive voting ID laws are citing Newberger v. Peterson, a 1972 Federal District Court case, stating that the state cannot bar college students from voting in New Hampshire on the basis that they intend to leave after graduation, and that such policies are a violation of the 14th Amendment’s equal protection clause. Moreover, in United States v. Symm, a 1979 Supreme Court case ruled that states must allow students to vote in the communities where they attend school. In a 5-4 decision, the Court stated that, “it cannot conceive of any reason why it should not be presumed that student applications for voter registration, like any other applicant, have made their application to register in good faith.” Furthermore the Court stated that “. . . there is no requirement that a student, in order to establish that he is a resident of the place where he wishes to vote, establish that he intends to remain there permanently or for any particular period of time”

However, despite precedence being set, states are still denying students their right to vote. Nevertheless, students do understand the importance of exercising their civic duty, their right to do so, and their role in shaping the future. In the 2008 presidential election approximately two million young adults voted. According to the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE) in the 2008 election youth voters’ turnout between the ages of 18-29 rose to 51%, which is an increase of 2% from the 2004 election. Furthermore, in the 2010 midterm election, CIRLCE reported that an estimated 24% of young people between the ages of 18-29 voted. Such an increase in youth voters can be attributed to the increase in awareness students now have about the importance of voting. Moreover, statistics show that younger votes tend to choose Democratic candidates over Republican by a margin of 57%-40%.

 It is clear that college student voters’ participation is on the rise and our political leaders should be celebrating and continues to encourage our educated young adults to participate in the country’s election. Instead, college students are witnessing a state-by-state effort in erecting new barriers and laws in a blatant attempt in making it harder and harder for college students to vote, which is clearly against their constitutional rights as citizens of the United States. Therefore, imposing these restrictions to win elections will only make a generation of college student cynical about their experience with the democratic election process.