there would be a small mound, bare rise of ground
in the place we buried war; and there would be many
at the site a line of sunshine in the night, such smiling gladness.
And heroes would stand beneath another's arm; shouldered love
and hands of mother's ... the hold of remembering...
would flutter to the nectar of their eyes,
like the bird sipping flowers, for this is loss repaid.
A young child would see a father's shadow in a passing cloud
and the touch of familar in the breeze on faces
finding the joy of tomorrow, making yesterday
a lesson learned. A promise for sunrises to come
to keep this place Holy in our days, sacred in our thoughts
a time for man to grow and hear another calling
to the real work of life...
Life.
In a list
Please tell me what you think
Comments
1 - 10 of 10
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I hope to see a day come when war is just a word in the history books and not on our lips everyday. I believe that there is good in all of mankind, we are programmed by our parents and society to hate and disrespect those that are different than ourselves. It's a worldwide problem not just limited to one ethnic group. "Change" is a beautiful thought.
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This is beautifully written and expresses the hope of all civilized people. For far too often war has been seen as the first recourse rather than the last resort. In the last fifty years the United States has squandered its youth and its resources on wars that cannot be won. Imagine how things might be today if we could have used the money spent for 5 years in Iraq to improve education, healthcare, and infrastructure here at home. And imagine the mothers, fathers, sisters and brothers who would not have had to bury their dead family members both here and in Iraq. May our new President-Elect shine a light of hope for all mankind. Peace, Liz
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There was a 12 year wait for Sadaam to straighten up. 12 years of negotiations before asking the world's permission to intervene. Lots of those people were under extreme oppression. I think their lives are worth every bit as much as ours.
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well many wondered why the US govt supported him too and for so many years, to balance Iran...a war there too, and as we saw in the Iraq civil war after Saddam...[still going on?]... there were many in Iraq willing to do harm to others. The invasion and occupation achieved some stability but at a cost that has staggered the world...and so many scores of billions... in profits.
The value of any accomplishment must be tested by the resources consumed and here the result is a miserable failure... we have no choice but to learn from the experience; unify a divided country..here and there... and go on...thanks for all...PK -
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It has been said that countries don't have permanent friends they have permanent interests. At the time we supported Iraq, it was in our interest to support them, later it was not. That was not conflict in foreign policy as I see it. Nations need to be flexible for maximum effect. "The enemy of my enemy is my friend." was the rational and I think a good one.
The regional hatred towards the US formed long before George Bush took office, then they pulled the sucker punch of 911 and that's where we drew the line in the sand. To do nothing would have been much worse. War is always a calculated price weighing cost and benefit. To say it is never an option alerts rogue entities like sharks to chum.
Two other things I think are worth considering, 1. there has not been an attack on our soil since 911 (only a couple of foiled attemps) and 2. Our soldiers are all volunteer.
I agree the cost is great in lives and treasure but an objective comparison to other wars will show it has not been as costly as most. But your point is still well taken - this one has gone on too long and it's time to go. I believe in peace through strength nationally, and peace through example individually.
PK I do appreciate your calm, rational demeanor in discussing issues. I find it a rarity. Thank you.
Paul -
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Well, $900 billion later, Bin Laden is still starring in newsreels; there have been no attacks...well, there weren't any before Bush either ...not since the British burned the White House in 1812 or so...I have the suspicion that there were many options for doing things to show our strength after 911, one test of which is forbearance, another is sound judgment...putting the terrorists who did the crimes on trial would have been a reasonable beginning, more relavant than Iraq.
The volunteers, yes..well, they deserve a great and careful leader who will spend their precious bravery with the care one would give his own child.
I don't have any need to speak about Bush, his record speaks volumes and as more is known the volume will go up! A leader has been chosen, I will do whatever I can to help my President, i hope all Americans feel the same...thanks for the most interesting conversation...PK. -
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Well, this discussion could go on for a long time so I'll just close by generally saying it will be interesting to me what role the "Messiah" (Obama's name according to Louis Farrakhan) will fill in the religion of the left once the "Devil" (George W. Bush) is gone.
I truly 'hope' that "right fighters" are frowned upon in lieu of truly independent, objective thinking.
We may find ourselves flailing with no objective OR we could could finally learn the meaning of true unity and join in a dialog with each other. Now that would be true change to me.
Peteskid: President 2012
paulcreates: Vice President
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Well, yeah, in an ideal world. Those who wage war against evil make it possible for others to live in peace. Promoting peace itself and dismantling defenses only attracts the evil.
Just my two.
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Paul...such a thought worthy thing here, i think the idea has been to associate peace with weakness. I think this has been a trigger point for a fear response in the US electorate for many years now. I think finally everyone can see that we can waste ourselves, being led by fear...accomplishing a nickel's worth of progress by spending away our future; the value of things must be measured by their costs, a trillion$ to do what has been done in Iraq, a waste of historic proportions in the entire history of people, but then ... loss of life... simply irreplaceable. Thanks for all...PK
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I understand what you're saying here. When you talk dollars and lives lost I sit up and take notice. I think there is always a balance to be struck and what started out to be a noble idea turned into the use of a sledge where perhaps a few well placed tack hammers would have done fine. On the other hand look what happened when Khadafi got uppity. We slapped his terrorist hand and he behaved.
I'm sure you're not suggesting we should have sat on our hands after 911 and I'm not thinking everything has gone right with the war on terror either. I see your point.
Paul
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