On Fri, 3 Mar 2006 11:23:23 +1000, Charlie Bell <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
wrote:
On Mar 3, 2006, at 3:43 AM, Nick Arnett wrote:
Among my first words to him were, "Thank you for serving," and "Welcome
home." I try to remember to say that to every vet I meet. Perhaps it
seems
absurd to thank people for serving in a war I oppose, but life is
absurd.
Good people serve, are hurt and die, in wrong wars.
Such an important point that it is vital to remember. The soldiers are
doing a job they believe in and most are doing the best they can on
behalf of our various countries, even if the task they're currently
doing is one we (and many of them) think is wrong.
And something we here in the U.S. did such a poor job of after Vietnam.
We (in general) had this Universal Soldier* attitude even though most of
the kids that had been over there had no (legal) say in the matter.
We made such a mess of that war it's hard to believe that we've become
entangled again so soon afterwards.
--
Doug
*Universal Soldier
by Donovan
He's five foot-two, and he's six feet-four,
He fights with missiles and with spears.
He's all of thirty-one, and he's only seventeen,
Been a soldier for a thousand years.
He'a a Catholic, a Hindu, an Atheist, a Jain,
A Buddhist and a Baptist and a Jew.
And he knows he shouldn't kill,
And he knows he always will,
Kill you for me my friend and me for you.
And he's fighting for Canada,
He's fighting for France,
He's fighting for the USA,
And he's fighting for the Russians,
And he's fighting for Japan,
And he thinks we'll put an end to war this way.
And he's fighting for Democracy,
He's fighting for the Reds,
He says it's for the peace of all.
He's the one who must decide,
Who's to live and who's to die,
And he never sees the writing on the wall.
But without him,
How would Hitler have condemned him at Dachau?
Without him Caesar would have stood alone,
He's the one who gives his body
As a weapon of the war,
And without him all this killing can't go on.
He's the Universal Soldier and he really is to blame,
His orders come from far away no more,
They come from here and there and you and me,
And brothers can't you see,
This is not the way we put the end to war.
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