Many Americans will be barbecuing, partying, and watching dazzling fireworks explode this July Fourth. Since childhood, I’ve always loved the Fourth, mostly because of the spectacular fireworks displays. The highlight of such events in my small town in southern Alabama was chasing a slow-burning lighted parachute across town, set off by the last fireworks. Hundreds of us kids would race across neighborhoods tracking and hoping to be the first to catch the year’s most valued prize. It would take me many years before my innocence could understand the sobering history behind such victorious celebrations of war.
For many Americans, Independence Day serves as a reminder of what has been lost, not gained, by war. As the Nation celebrates its military conquest over the British, leading to our independence, many veterans will silently feel the anguish of recent, murky, and now questionable long wars that ended in stand-offs at best. When they remember war, real faces will come to mind that are no more, either lost during combat or, just as tragically, afterward at home.
The realities experienced by current and former military personnel contrast sharply with the star-spangled exuberation on display at our nation’s Independence Day celebrations. Suicide rates among active military personnel and veterans is 1.5 times that of the general population, according to a study by Brown University’s Costs of War Project. Current estimates indicate that an average of 17 veterans die from suicide every day, not counting Reservists and National Guardsmen who were not federally activated.
Robert Emmel Meagher summarizes this silent, pernicious crisis this way in his book, Killing from the Inside Out:
In every major war since Korea, more of our veterans have taken their lives than have lost them in combat. The latest research, rooted in veteran testimony, reveals that the most severe and intractable PTSD – fraught with shame, despair, and suicide – stems from moral injury.
What is moral injury?
The US Department of Veterans Affairs defines moral injury as “the distressing psychological, behavioral, social, and sometimes spiritual aftermath of exposure” to “events that contradict deeply held moral beliefs and expectations.”
Often overlooked and misdiagnosed, moral injury requires a different approach than treatment for other forms of trauma. And although the term is increasingly recognized in military and healthcare settings, most people have never heard of moral injury – not even those in the military – yet it is likely far more pervasive than fear-based trauma. And because the heart of moral injury is a profound shame (for what one has done or failed to do to protect others), it is the most difficult kind of trauma to talk about.
What are examples of moral injury?
Moral injury can occur when an individual does something that contradicts their beliefs, or when they fail to do something in line with their beliefs. Even simply witnessing or failing to prevent events that contradict someone’s morals can lead to moral injury.
In my early years of being a psychologist, I was astonished to see a kind father suddenly burst into tears when he recalled his experience of seeing young children being murdered by his commanding officer in Vietnam, “sacrificing” them to compel the local villagers to tell where the nearby Viet Cong were hiding. On the 7th birthday of his twin daughters, he recalled that the children he had seen murdered were of the same age. In my office, he could not bear the weight of his grief and shame, and frantically walked in circles around the room, hoping to distance himself from his overpowering emotions.
I had no name for the man’s suffering at the time, other than war trauma. Now we know that moral injury may be at the heart of why so many soldiers take their lives after war.
Nightmares that stem from moral injury may hold the key to healing
After learning more about moral injury, I was compelled to make a film on this subject. Dreaming to Heal PTSD and Moral Injury tells the story of a sleep-deprived war vet who was menaced by chronic nightmares of Iraqi citizens chasing him. When the soldier came to understand that those wishing to kill him were symbolic of his conscience that sought to punish him, he was finally able to turn and face the moral outrage that was directed toward himself.
I made the film because of two hopeful things:
- One, dreaming, even nightmares following trauma, are attempts by Nature to help us heal trauma, if only we cooperate with the dream’s purpose.
- Secondly, the most pernicious form of trauma, shame-based injury, can be healed in the presence of a compassionate other.
Empathy is the great healing antidote to shame, and it can come through a compassionate friend, a spiritual mentor, or from a place deep in the self that stands for our dignity, despite what we have done or failed to do.
When fireworks explode now, I say a prayer for those whose bodies startle with fear, and I also remember the words of an ancient Chinese poet-philosopher whose writings have been translated around the world more than any book other than the Bible. In the 31st poem of the Tao Te Ching, Lao-Tzu says,1
Fine weapons are instruments of misfortune; all creatures fear them.
In peace we favor creation; at war we favor destruction.
Weapons are tools of misfortune, not the tools of the wise.
The sage uses them only as the very last, with calm restraint.
Victory is no cause for rejoicing; victory comes from killing.
If you enjoy killing, you can never be fulfilled.
When victorious, celebrate as if at a funeral.
(Translated by Ned Ludd)
It’s the last line that gets me, “When victorious, celebrate as if at a funeral.” Sometimes this is translated other ways:
He who has killed many men should weep with many tears.
He who has conquered in battle should stand in the place of mourning.”
(Translated by Isabella Mears)
Killing multitudes brings weeping and sorrow;
Treat victory like a funeral.”
(Translated by Herrymoon Maurer)
With the killing of masses of people, we ought to bewail with sorrow and grief.
Victory in battle should be commemorated with mournful rites.”
(Translated by Jerry C. Welch)
When many people are killed,
Then mourn and weep with grief for them.
Victory in war thus means they will dwell at a funeral.”
(Translated by Bruce R. Linnell)
Why do I write these sobering words which to some may seem un-American? It is because we need others to bear our grief and especially shame. We who have watched others go to war should know that upon their return, many silently suffer the harm of war for years to come. They need for us to understand and stand with them in their grief and shame, all too often silently carried.
1All quotes from the 31st chapter of the Tao Te Ching can be found at https://www.egreenway.com/taoism/ttclz31.htm
