Stephenson Family Ties

I've stumbled upon this picture a few times as I surf the web.
And it disturbs me every time I look at it.
I know people who are struggling with family members who are trying to 're-enter' life as we know if, after serving a tour of duty in the Middle East. I hate that the war and or the lack of attention that our veterans deserve could be contributing to these marks on the wall.
So..... whenever I have a political question or diplomacy question...or a tough question, I turn to my brother. I asked him to tell me what he thinks about this photograph...
here is his response:

"What is disturbing about the picture? That because we are so good at war (or our current enemy sucks so bad), more of our people kill themselves than are killed by the enemy. Maybe that is good news. The rate of suicide in the military is very close to the rate in the civilian population overall for the same age group. Even during the toughest times in Iraq (2005-2007) the rate of US casualties was barely above the murder rate for African-American men of the same age group living in US cities.

Watch out for the BIG LIES. The best example of one of the BIG LIES is: ‘reality TV.’

Other big lies: (1) that what ENRON did was illegal, (2) that the current financial crisis is anyone’s fault other than those that borrowed more than they could afford (including the US Government), (3) that what we are fighting for in Iraq/Afghanistan/Philippines/Pakistan/Africa/Columbia/etc. is not worth it, and (4) that we can’t do anything about the size of our government.