"The Invisible War"

Today, I was fortunate enough to catch the online viewing of a new documentary called "The Invisible War" hosted by the director, producers, and a few interviewees of the film. If you haven't heard of it, I wouldn't be surprised. Here's the trailer.

I first heard of this film a couple of months ago when I was browsing rottentomatoes.com for a film to stalk as my inner movie geek is bound to do, and I saw that there was actually a film with many reviews that was sitting at 100%, hardly heard of. And a documentary no less! I did some googling, watched the trailer, and knew I had to see it. But there was a problem: it wasn't showing anywhere within two hundred miles of my north Texas city. What in the--? Why was Sundance-winner with such a high critical rating struggling so much with distribution?

The answer, it would seem, matches the theme of the film: denial. Cover-up. For those of you who haven't heard of this brilliant film, "The Invisible War" chronicles the journeys of several survivors of Military Sexual Trauma (MST) in their brave searches for justice. US Government statistics estimate that 1 in 5 military women have been raped while serving this country. There is no police for them to report to when the perpetrator is their police, their commanding officer. Attempts to prosecute are met with hostility, humiliation, resistance, even death threats. The film touches on the scandals at Tailhook in the early nineties, and in DC in 2003, but months before the film's release, the nation was shocked again by a similar scandal at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio.

The real shock in each of these scandals wasn't even the crimes being committed; it was the blatant cover-up. The protection of the assailants and the blaming and counter-persecution of the victims. What in the hell has been going on with our military?

As a moderate, I can see this being one of those issues that gets swept under the rug. One side has bigger things to focus on, and the other will never say anything bad about the military. And before anyone gets any ideas, I am not now, nor have I ever been, anti-military. I am grateful and regretful for the lives that have been taken in the service of this country. However, can we not see how a profession that grants its members a gun and no small amount of power over other human beings would hold a certain attraction for less-than-admirable people as well? There is something inherently broken about a system that refers to sexual assault as an "occupational hazard" of serving this country, as it was officially ruled in 2011, as if it is to be accepted, as if it is unpreventable, as if it isn't a despicable crime against humanity that should never be tolerated.

What many are failing to realize is that standing behind these women, prosecuting their assailants, and making rape a strictly untolerated crime IS supporting the troops. These women are the troops, too. They deserve justice. They deserve a system that protects them, not their rapist.

Is this an issue we can all get behind? Can we put aside some party lines and blind worship for the military aside for half a second to solve a real issue that, surely, we must all be against? An issue this important should not be struggling to be talked about. Be outraged. Demand justice. Speak out.

To vote to bring "The Invisible War" to your city, and for other resources and ways to get involved and spread the word, click here.