+
upworthy

Sarah Palin blamed Obama for her son’s PTSD. This vet was not having it.

Sarah Palin went political with her son's PTSD.

Early in 2016, the Palin family rocketed back into headlines for a couple reasons.

On Jan. 19, 2016, Sarah Palin formally endorsed Donald Trump for president. Seeing as Trump's the current GOP front-runner and Palin was once gunning for the vice presidency, the endorsement naturally made waves.


Photo by Aaron P. Bernstein/Getty Images.

That same day, however, a different story cropped up regarding the Alaskan family. Track Palin, the former politician's 26-year-old son who served in Iraq, was arraigned on charges of domestic assault and possession of a firearm while intoxicated, USA Today reported. According to his mom, Track is living with PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder), which played a role in her son's actions.

The two stories seemingly have nothing to do with one another. But Palin used the spotlight from her Trump endorsement to not-so-subtly blame her son's PTSD on Obama's failure to provide adequate resources to returning men and women in uniform. She stated that veterans "have to question if they're respected anymore" and they need a commander-in-chief "who will respect them and honor them."

If you're bothered by Palin's assertion that the president is somehow personally responsible for her son's wrongdoing, you're not alone.

On Jan. 20, Paul Rieckhoff, founder and CEO of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA), spoke out against Palin's dangerous message to voters, loud and clear.

"It's not President Obama's fault that Sarah Palin's son has PTSD," Rieckhoff, who served as an Army first lieutenant and infantry rifle platoon leader in Iraq, told NBC News. "PTSD is a very serious problem, a complicated mental health injury, and I would be extremely reluctant to blame any one person in particular."

Paul Rieckhoff speaks at an event in New York City. Photo by Jemal Countess/Getty Images.

Let's set aside the fact Obama has fought for veterans in a number of ways — like expanding their access to education, passing tax incentives encouraging businesses to hire them, and, yes, improving health care for those living with PTSD — it shouldn't even matter. Blaming a president for any one individual's battle with PTSD defies reason.

Rieckhoff — whose organization is bipartisan — called on Palin to "resist the urge to politicize" PTSD, and he encouraged Trump to provide specific plans on how he'd help vets living with the condition.

PTSD amongst vets is a serious issue that should be discussed by our leaders, but not in such a blatantly politicizing (and misleading) way.

PTSD surfaces when an individual's "fight-or-flight" response — a healthy, instinctive reaction every human has in times of distress to protect us from danger — is damaged or changed, according to the National Institute of Mental Health. The condition can arise after someone experiences something particularly terrifying — like abuse, rape, natural disaster, or war — and some research suggests it can even be inherited.

PTSD may cause a person to relive upsetting memories, experience jumpiness, and have trouble sleeping, among other symptoms.

A person living with PTSD may try to cope with their condition by abusing drugs and alcohol, according to the VA. Photo by Chris Hondros/Getty Images.

Because they are more likely to see violence abroad, war veterans are especially affected by PTSD. While about 7-8% of the general population will have the condition at some point in their lives, up to 20% of Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans will experience PTSD in a given year, according to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

"You may have been on missions that exposed you to horrible and life-threatening experiences," the VA's website says. "You may have been shot at, seen a buddy get shot, or seen death. These types of events can lead to PTSD."


Photo by Armend Nimani/AFP/Getty Images.

But it's not just related to combat trauma — female veterans are more likely to experience PTSD due to sexual violence experienced while serving too.

As Rieckhoff pointed out, the causes and ramifications of PTSD are complicated as they pertain to any one person. Palin's attempt to connect her son's mental health directly to a political foe is ignorant at best and malicious at worst.

Taking care of our vets should be a high priority for whoever lives in the White House in 2017 — Democrat or Republican.

One good thing that came from Palin's PTSD comments is that we're talking about the issue. Hopefully a candidate's platform in helping our returning vets will be a priority to voters this November.

Click here to support Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America.

Education

A school assignment asked for 3 benefits of slavery. This kid gave the only good answer.

The school assignment was intended to spark debate and discussion — but isn't that part of the problem?

A school assignment asked for 3 "good" reasons for slavery.



It's not uncommon for parents to puzzle over their kids' homework.

Sometimes, it's just been too long since they've done long division for them to be of any help. Or teaching methods have just changed too dramatically since they were in school.

And other times, kids bring home something truly inexplicable.
Keep ReadingShow less

Delivery guy finds baby turtle and his joy is contagious

Even as adults there are some things that make us so giddy with joy that you briefly feel like a kid again. It can be finding a four leaf clover on a walk, a tiny baby kitten or even warm cookies right out of the oven. Anything can give that inner child a chance to show itself but one delivery driver's inner child was captured on doorbell camera.

A FedEx driver had just delivered a package but when he's walking back to his truck he abruptly stops. The man spots something moving in the grass before picking it up to investigate it further. Turns out it was a baby turtle. Not just any baby turtle but one of the tiniest baby turtles you've ever seen and the delivery driver is immediately filled with excitement.

It was truly one of those moments where someone else needs to see what you see to release so of the joy into the atmosphere but there was no one around.

Keep ReadingShow less

Taylor Swift at 2022 Toronto International Film Festival Red Carpet Day 2.

The wordsmiths over at Merriam-Webster have announced their official “Word of the Year for 2023,” they say it’s something we are “thinking about, writing about, aspiring to, and judging more” than ever.

The word is authentic.

According to the dictionary, the most common definitions of authentic are “not false or imitation,” “being true to one's own personality, spirit, or character,” and “worthy of acceptance or belief as conforming to or based on fact.”

Merriam-Webster says the word saw a “substantial increase” in lookups this year. That’s probably because we now live in a world where artificial intelligence, deepfake technology and questionable memes challenge our basic notions of reality.

Keep ReadingShow less
Family

Couple takes their daughter on an 'only child moon' before she becomes a sister

The sweet and thoughtful idea has other parents taking note.

@sportsdrmorgan/TikTok

Couple takes their daughter on a "only child moon"

Babymoons have become a very popular activity for expecting parents. It’s a celebratory vacation for parents to bask in quiet, relaxing one-on-one time before the baby comes. Think of it as one last hurrah before parenthood.

However, one couple has turned the idea on its head—focusing not on themselves, but their first-born daughter who would soon become a sister. A video of their lovely “only child moon,” as they dubbed it, is currently making the rounds on TikTok and leaving people just a wee bit teary eyed.

Keep ReadingShow less

Woman has comically tragic adventure trying to renew passport

Envision preparing for months to celebrate your mom's birthday abroad in Dubai only to get to the airport to watch your entire family board the plane without you. One woman doesn't have to imagine because it happened to her, taking the stranded woman on multiple unwelcome adventures.

Nneoma and several members of her family planned a trip to Dubai for her mom's birthday but when it was time to board the flight, the woman was denied. She thought she had everything in order not knowing that if your passport is expiring within six months of leaving the country–you can't leave. The devastation she must've felt hearing she couldn't join her family.

But Nneoma had a plan. She would simply go to a same day passport place and renew her unexpired passport then catch a flight the next day to join the festivities. The woman planned and the universe laughed. It was not that easy.

Keep ReadingShow less

The grandmother was suspicious.

A grandmother always felt her middle granddaughter Lindsay, 15, looked slightly different from the rest of the family because she had blonde, curly hair, while the rest of her siblings’ hair was dark “I thought genetics was being weird and I love her,” she wrote on Reddit’s AITA forum.

But things became serious after Linday’s parents “banned” her from taking things a step further and getting a DNA test. If the family was sure their daughter was theirs, why would they forbid her from seeking clarity in the situation? After the parents laid down the law, the situation started to seem a little suspicious.

“I told my son and [daughter-in-law] that there was something fishy around her birth she needed to know. They denied it and told me to leave it alone,” the grandma wrote.

Keep ReadingShow less