and article initiative i want to thank our panelists, connell professor schoenbrod for your book. thank you for joining us. ,. [applause] [inaudible conversations] here's a look at some authors recently featured on book tvs "after words". our weekly author interview program. colorado representative kent buck discussed corruption in washington and his plans perform

washington times national security communist builders provided his thoughts on how the united states can outpace global competitors in the information age. former chief of the utah police department internal affairs bureau charles, described his work investigating corruption in the police force. in the coming weeks on "after words" new york times correspondent helene cooper will explore the life of ellen johnson surly, leader of the liberian women's movement. the first democratically bema president african history. an msnbc host chris hayes will look at inequality in the united states. sexual assault on college campuses. this weekend ohio governor john cusick will reflect on his 2016 presidential campaign. >> what i think has to happen in our country and it's not just the divided congress. i read in the new york times this woman moved her wedding

from america to in early because she couldn't get all of her relatives they are, that there be a riot about fighting in politics. one of my boyhood friends told me he cannot talk to her father about politics. his father is 90 and dave was telling me the other day that all we do is shout at each other i don't even go there anymore. we know that families are fighting, that friends are -- that you unfriend someone on facebook if you they say something you don't like. i think there are things that pull us together. a couple of them are: this drug problem, the dea drug enforcement agency told me that the only way to win this is education, starting very young and all the way through. we ought to have groups in our neighborhood that work spread this message to young people. i believe in mentoring programs. they're the most powerful thing to give kids confidence. that's not republican or democrat. the drug issue is not republican or democrat, it's a human issue.

somebody that lives in your neighborhood lost their spouse of 60 years, we all have to pitch in and help a person like that. as we begin to work together to solve some of these things in our neighborhood, will learn to communicate with one another and then we can send the message up to the leaders that they have to knock this stuff off "after words" airs on book tv every saturday at 10:00 p.m. and sunday at 9:00 p.m. eastern. you can watch all previous "after words" programs on her website booktv.org. >> i had a lot of people and i almost died a lot of times. what really messed me up was seen people get awards. i could fight wars and almost die and people die in my hands but just seen a soul fall apart in front of you, when they're trying to lie and do anything for a wart. napoleon said a man will fight

long and hard for a bit of colored ribbon. seen that in action where people are fighting and lying for a bit of colored ribbon. it just breaks your heart, breaks you inside just to see that time and time again. yeah, just coming home. one of the reasons i will this book was because i talk about it in here, i was on a date with this girl and she starts talking about this newspaper article that she had iran in a hometown hero piece. about this guy who came back from iraq and the up any of the american soldier, perfect g.i. she's telling me about the story i mike i enjoy a good war story. what the guys aims? lolly gas. the guy is served interact. he's one of the biggest airbags in the entire unit. i call up a buddy of mine and say you won't believe this. this is what they're saying about him. my buddy says let's go burn this guys house down. there were just this aspect of

people coming home and a lot of real heroes in the military, great guys and heroes but there's guys that chase ribbons, fight for a bit of colored ribbon and it happens. the instance he's talking about interact was me into buddies were nominated for the wards and we didn't want the words. we don't want to stand up there and look like idiots. when you have to stand up and get your participation trophy, not, we don't want to do this. on the other side, your people that were petitioning to change military regulations so they can get an award because something happened that they didn't qualify for. everyone wanted a combat action badge. they wanted to lie about. things exploded far away but it wasn't unexploded ordinance and the terrace took out all the gunpowder, it didn't explode, but these guys thought they

would've qualified and award but not really so they're trying to change army regulations so they can get this award and later on this guy wanted me to lie so he could get an award. i don't even like you. maybe i'd think about if i liked you but i don't even like you. it's just as bad ass. it tears at your heart. when you think you're fighting for something and then you got these guys that are wearing the same uniform as you and fighting for that ribbon. >> you mentioned that passage where you're talking to the vietnam vet and he's saying i'd rather have someone spit on me and shake my hand. you talk and one hears elsewhere there's a book called thank you for your service, and talk about the resentment is that turns into yourself as a kind of fawning attitude, a shallow curiosity that doesn't want to hear about the non- heroes in

that kind of stuff. i wonder how should we, let's say you see a soldier in uniform at the airport, do you say, thank you, do you just let him be? or at the bar, how would you recommend for those of us who are civilians for life to talk to you, approach you, attitude as friends, strangers? >> i'll tell you to pick stories . one was after publication of my first book. i met thousands of vets that had things just like this. our member talking about vietnam that's and they would say, thank you for your service and i would say thank you for your service. this happened to me a dozen times. no one's ever said that to me before, vietnam vet today.

i can understand not supporting the war and the iraq war is what it is to but i can understand people had that sensation but to go for years and not even be recognized that you are willing to give up your life, that you went over into this and now it's 2000 whatever and i'm the first person to say that to a dozen people. the other end of this is to go back to one of those dating classes. i took a dating class, it was a good one where you work on this game and this one scene where this one time during the exercises there was a stupid guy , masculine guy, for doing this internal meditation exercise in this big guy had this breakthrough where he just realized something about himself , something about life and had this big breakthrough. he starts crying, right? a cathartic cry. that full party, cathartic cry

that he realized something about his life and having this perfect breakthrough. right in the middle of this, one of the other guys in the dating for the him and said hi5 dude. he's right in the middle of this cathartic full-body cry and he relies on the life and everyone's like hi5 dude. i feel like that's are in that zone and someone comes up to you and you can just be like hi5 dude. you really don't know what's going on inside me and you don't realize what you're i went through especially when you first come back. you're in that zone and it can feel like hi5 dude. back you watch this and other programs online @booktv .org.