Is it time for new thinking on PTSD and veteran suicide prevention?

If you think about it, and this may sound cynical, most of the holidays we Americans celebrate seem to promote consumerism more than anything else.

Anniversaries and birthdays. Hallmark cards and fancy cakes.

Memorial Day, Fourth of July, Labor Day. Beaches, barbecues and bargain prices on mattresses and new cars too!

Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas. Spend, spend, spend.

We are hardwired to want what we don’t have, buy what we don’t need, and roll happily in our own world. So it’s not surprising that we spend little time thinking about others, like veterans and how we might ease their pain.