27a By and large, even where we find it difficult to understand, most people love their country. No doubt they will be critical of it at times. Certainly, others will level criticisms at it. The difference is that citizens’ dissatisfaction with their nation generally comes from a place of love and loyalty, while outsiders may have a wide array of motives.

Regardless of the degree of pride for achievements or frustration with perceived failings, most of the populace will express their patriotism and affection through celebrating national holidays.

In addition to unique customs, most countries will share common festivities, such as parades and firework displays. For the past couple of years, most places scaled back their celebrations in the face of the worldwide pandemic. But, with the availability of vaccines, many places have been moving towards a return to more typical celebratory events.

Last week, Israel marked its 74th Independence Day, and some two dozen celebrations again scaled back or eliminated their fireworks displays across the Jewish state, but for a very different reason. This year, there was a concern about the impact that the loud explosions have on people living with post-traumatic stress disorder, which led to the downsizing of celebratory pyrotechnics.

Advocates struggled to educate officials, and the public about the adverse impact booming fireworks has on many veterans and others struggling with PTSD.

Unfortunately, it took an April 2021 tragedy to begin to galvanize greater PTSD awareness. Last year, just before Israel’s Memorial Day (which is commemorated the day before Independence Day) in protest, a veteran, frustrated with his inadequate PTSD care, set himself on fire in the entryway to a military rehabilitation facility. Fortunately, he survived, and the nation has closely followed his slow and painful recovery.

Such a wake-up call should not be needed anywhere, but the realities of competing priorities, inadequate budgets, bloated bureaucracies and political expediencies make this a reality pretty much everywhere.

Indeed, in response to the events, the struggles of soldiers with PTSD almost immediately began to receive much-needed attention. What and how much will change remains to be seen. And we should not be surprised that there has been push-back from those who are disappointed with the curtailing of the traditional aerial festivities.

No doubt, there is a complicated balancing act between the understandable desire of a nation to celebrate itself and concern for those who may be impacted negatively through certain forms of that celebration.

We who live within the Fort Bragg area can especially understand these competing considerations. Obviously, every country has its own unique history and set of circumstances, so even if this issue were confronted globally, the particular calculus would necessarily and appropriately play out differently in different places.

We are in the midst of Mental Health Awareness Month. I would suggest that taking note of this kind of weighing of values, wherever it occurs, is just the type of awareness-raising regarding the mental health issues that we are meant to engage in at this time of year.

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