Can we do better by vets than free tacos?

Headline on Military Times website touts "From free tacos to haircuts and lube jobs

Headline ours “From free tacos to haircuts and lube jobs, Veterans Day discounts and deals are waiting.

Thank goodness for the taco makers, the barbers and the oil changers. They are ding their part to appreciate veterans.

Cover of the Bias Busters guide, “100 Questions and Answers About Veterans: A Guide for Civilians”

This is not a sarcastic or snide appeal that we should move tour support for veterans up to a national scale. That is a good idea. But this is for the rest of us who can step up and join small and large businesses in showing our respect, too.

It starts with some understanding.

Rushing up to someone in a veterans ball cap and thanking them for their service and then rushing is off is not just too little, it might also be off-putting, no matter how well-intentioned.

To appreciate and respect veterans at the individual level, first learn about them and why, depending on the circumstances, this greeting is for some a burden and not a blessing.

It’s easy. “100 Questions and Answers About Veterans” is available from Amazon or the Front Edge Publishing bookstore.