Politics, PTSD and Veterans’ Rights with Jason Kander
By 2018, Jason Kander had already served in Afghanistan, been elected to the Missouri State Legislature, and become Missouri Secretary of State. The logical next step: a 2020 presidential campaign.
Instead, Jason took the political world by surprise and chose to run for mayor of Kansas City, near his hometown of Shawnee, Kansas.
Despite a successful early campaign, Jason made another shocking decision: to end his candidacy, take a break from the public eye, and spend eight months receiving treatment for the PTSD he brought back from Afghanistan.
Today, he joins me to talk about how therapy helped him deal with the trauma he endured during his service, how the U.S. must change the way it takes care of its veterans, and more.
“One of the big things that I worked through in therapy was … this sense that I hadn't done enough. I mean, it was just this constant refrain because I had friends who had been hurt physically. I had plenty of friends who had been overseas longer than me. So I had this real sense that I had not done enough and it drove me for a very long time. And what I realize now is that I actually have done quite a lot and I have done enough. Doesn't mean I'm not gonna do more for my country, but it won't be because I feel I have to, or I owe it. It'll be because that's what I want to do.” – Jason (07:34)
Jason discussed coming to terms with his PTSD diagnosis after more than a decade, and how his diagnosis provided not only validation, but a way forward.
“When I was diagnosed with PTSD, it happened after me really coming to terms with the idea that I had PTSD. So when I was finally diagnosed, you know, I had spent almost 11 years being like, that's not what this is. And then that became like, it's not what this is. I didn't earn that. So that's just something wrong with me. I'm just this way. And then it was very hard and very difficult for me to accept the idea that this was PTSD. So then after I'd gone through that, then to be diagnosed was validating for me. … but I think even more than the validation that it provided to me was the clarity, you know, the idea of like, because once you say like, okay, for sure that's what this is, then it does feel a little like, okay, so now I know what to do.” – Jason (09:08)
In This Episode
- (01:13) Jason’s path to joining the military
- (02:49) Learning to help others by example
- (04:30) Choosing the Army
- (07:34) Trauma, therapy, and survivor’s guilt
- (09:08) Coming to terms with PTSD
- (12:40) Recovery in the public eye
- (19:48) Will the U.S. change the way it takes care of our veterans?
- (32:34) The case for foreign aid
- (47:15) Writing Invisible Storm
Our Guest
Jason Kander served in Afghanistan as an Army Captain before being elected to the Missouri State Legislature in 2008 and becoming Missouri Secretary of State in 2012.
Currently, Jason is the President of the National Expansion at Veterans Community Project, a non-profit dedicated to preventing suicide and homelessness among veterans.
He is the author of two books, Outside the Wire: Ten Lessons I’ve Learned in Everyday Courage, and Invisible Storm: A Soldier’s Memoir of Politics and PTSD.
Resources & Links
Off The Cuff
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Jason Kander
