The name Liberating Odysseus was inspired by the mythological hero Odysseus who
served as the main character of Homer’s Greek myth The Odyssey, the companion
and sequel to The Iliad. Odysseus, King of Ithaca, proved to be the most strategic thinking commander in the Greek Army when he ended the ten-year Trojan War by feigning withdraw from Troy while leading an attack from a large wooden horse he pretended to leave as a parting gift. After the destruction of Troy, Odysseus faced numerous challenges on his ten-year journey home. When he finally returns he finds his homeland in chaos as numerous “suitors”, who thought he was dead, were plotting to usurp his place as King of Ithaca and subdue his wife, Queen Penelope.
The timeless story of Odysseus continues to illustrate the psychological trials and emotional tribulations that warriors face as they transition from warfare back to civilian life. In Odysseus in America, Veterans Affairs psychiatrist Jonathan Shay described the difficult transitions Vietnam veterans faced when returning home from war zones. Shay explained that in addition to the trauma of war, many veterans suffer the psychological burdens of moral injury. Shay defined moral injury as a “betrayal of 'what's right' in a high-stakes situation by someone who holds power.”
After being betrayed by political and military leaders, veterans often come home to the judgment and condemnation of civilians who often have little to no knowledge of the world beyond America's borders. Empathizing with American warriors, Shay explained, "The Vietnam veterans that I have worked with were treated shabbily by both the political right – who scorned them as "losers," lacking the war-winning sterner stuff of the World War II generation – and by the political left, who held them responsible for everything vile or wrongheaded that led us into the war, was done during the war, or came out of the war."
History is now repeating itself as many post-9/11 veterans feel caught in middle of
social-political conflicts that can lead to attacks from the right and the left. Feeling betrayed by political and military leaders and condemned by civilians deepens the psychological and spiritual wounds of moral injury. Because most Americans cannot reach the political and military leaders who spend our nation’s blood and treasure on war, civilians often project their rage and resentment onto America’s warriors. While American warriors returning from the Vietnam War experienced this resentment in vile and blatant ways, warriors who served in America’s post-9/11 warfare often face subtle and passive-aggressive civilian resentment, which often hinders mental health treatment and other important services.
Even the term moral injury, which Shay developed after years of empathic work with
Vietnam veterans, has been hijacked by mental health clinicians, clergy, and researchers who have twisted the definition to make ignorant moral judgments of
American service members. Similar to America's warriors, our nation's first responders answer the daily call to face significant trauma and confront evil, but often come home to judgments of those who have never made such sacrifices.
Liberating Odysseus was born out of the frustrations that our founder experienced after
witnessing how professors and academic faculty in the U.S. are training social workers to judge and condemn America’s post-9/11 veterans. Colleges and universities around the U.S. are teaching students that military veterans are oppressors while seminaries are telling young ministers that post-9/11 veterans have been separated from God. These judgmental narratives are completely contrary to the story of Odysseus who obtains the favor and compassion of the Goddess Athena.
Inspired by the story of Odysseus and building on the work of experts on veteran mental
health struggles, Liberating Odysseus empathizes with America’s post-9/11 veterans, confronts those who demonize America’s warriors, and provides compassionate care to those enduring the struggles of their own personal odyssey. Liberating Odysseus is committing to helping veterans heal from military trauma and find freedom from social-political judgment and condemnation.