The reason why we greet each other with "Aloha" is because of the real powerful
meaning of this word that really expresses:
"I come to you with respect
and with an open heart and with love." And the recognition that no matter where
we come from or the color of our skin or how we work or if we worship
or how we wor..
All of these things...
It cuts right through and recognizes that we are all connected.
We are all brothers and sisters, all children of God, and therefore are
inspired to treat each other with that most deep respect and care that inspires
us to take action.
To take action to care for one another.
I get asked about the grey that I have in my hair here
I started to go grey during my first deployment,
and just over the years, I have decided to keep that
because of the reminder that it brings to me
of those who pay the price for war.
The cost of war; I will never forget.
I think that it is most important to make sure that we have
the right people with the right qualifications,
motivated purely by that love, and care,
and compassion for others in positions of power.
Because ultimately when it comes down to it,
whether you have men or women in positions
of great power or influence, if they are driven by
that hunger for power and desire to hold onto it,
that's where we end up in a very bad place.
The VA is an organization that has a mission to protect and to serve the needs
of our veterans. Those who go and are willing to sacrifice
all for our country. And unfortunately what we are seeing is that even after all of these years,
both, in the post-9/11 era of veterans but also Vietnam veterans, Korean War veterans,
those who've come before us, the services are still falling short
And the area of post-traumatic stress is one of the main areas where that is true.
There continues to be a stigma around it - whether people are willing to admit it or not -
both, within the military and also as people have transitioned back to their civilian lives.
I have experienced it through some of my friends, who I have served with,
who have come home really struggling,
and having a hard time finding the best place that can help them.
This is one of the drivers behind the continued rate of veteran suicide
that we are seeing in our country, and shows that we have to take a more holistic approach.
And this is what I would lead as a president, where as a veteran, I understand in a deeply
personal way, who pays the price for war, and how heavy that price is.
And I will ensure that our VA leaves no veteran behind.
And that every single veteran gets the care that they need.
And as we look at post-traumatic stress, there are many different levels of
how it impacts people on a whole spectrum: some very extreme situations, some less extreme.
But every person heals and finds their therapy and their path forward
in a different way. And as a VA, as a government, and as a
society, we need to be able to help support that.
We are still working on putting together kind of on paper
in each of these areas what my vision for
the kinds of changes that we need to see
as a presidential platform.
These are issues that I have been closely involved with
and working on with legislation in Congress, both,
cosponsoring bills, like the AIM HIGH Act and others,
and bringing voice to those who are my constituents
and others in the country, who are still
not being represented at the table,
where a lot of these decisions are being made.