It's Veteran's Day. My Peace Flag is still flying. Making my statement.
Randy Newman said it well.
Song For The Dead
From the Album: "Trouble in Paradise"
(also included on "Guilty")
as prescient now as it was in 1983.
"Deep in the field
A lone soldier stands
With mud on his boot
And blood on his hands
They left him behind
To bury the dead
And to say a few words on behalf of the leadership
Pardon me, boys
If I slip off my pack
And sit for a while with you
I'd like to explain
Why you fine young men had to be blown apart
To defend this mud hole
Now our country, boys
Though it's quite far away
Found itself jeopardized
Endangered, boys
By these very gooks
Who lie here beside you
Forever near
Forever
We'd like to express
Our deep admiration
For your courage under fire
And your willingness to die
For your country, boys
We won't forget
We won't forget"
A lone soldier stands
With mud on his boot
And blood on his hands
They left him behind
To bury the dead
And to say a few words on behalf of the leadership
Pardon me, boys
If I slip off my pack
And sit for a while with you
I'd like to explain
Why you fine young men had to be blown apart
To defend this mud hole
Now our country, boys
Though it's quite far away
Found itself jeopardized
Endangered, boys
By these very gooks
Who lie here beside you
Forever near
Forever
We'd like to express
Our deep admiration
For your courage under fire
And your willingness to die
For your country, boys
We won't forget
We won't forget"
I don't forget.
I doubt the living veterans we honor today forget either.
It's vital that we remember.
I endorse these words and the questions they evoke.
When it is acceptable to call on the 1% to answer their country's call in
a time of need. Theirs is not to question the need or dismiss the call.
They answer. They pay. We OWE.
2 comments:
Watcher,
The way this country treats our
veterans is a shame, a dishonor.
Vets' salaries are a joke, finding
work after leaving the service is
very difficult.
The Atomic Veterans and the Tuskegee Airmen were used, discarded, forgotten. The Atomic Vets found it almost impossible to get vitally needed healthcare after radiation exposure, because to qualify meant the government would have to admit what was done to them.
This country has a lot to answer for.
Best, A.
R.,
I check Forbes occasionally because it's fascinating to see what is revealed there. Maybe I should email you an article about ComEd, Exelon, Emanuel, Obama et al which
appeared there early last year.
The article's reporter and editor, if there was one, blithely assumed only true believer wall street types/aspirants read their stuff.
--Wrong! I always feel I need to
leave my usual research comfort zone to learn things I could never discover otherwise. Sorry for all
the prolixity, but I really feel
communicative lately toward the two smart people who ever comment on my blog.
Best, A.
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