posted on November 11, 2001 08:41:27 AM new
The following excerpt from a sermon expresses my feelings about verterans past and present. We need to remember, honor them and treat them right.
Helen
THE MYTH WE CHERISH:
AMERICA CARES FOR ITS VETERANS. preached on Veterans Day, November 12, 2000
at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Greater Lansing (MI)
by the Rev. Dr. Wayne Robinson, Minister.
INTRODUCTION:
Ten years after the horror of the Vietnam War, at the same time that the Reagan Administration was curtailing health and other benefits for veterans, we were at the same time constructing monuments and memorials to the Vietnam dead. And while we were building multimillion dollar monuments, the American Legion was informing its members that a third of all the homeless in America were veterans: half of them were veterans of Vietnam.
We found it incredibly difficult to accept that Vietnam not only left 58,000 dead, but thousands upon tens of thousands wounded in mind and spirit. Agent Orange did more than defoliate trees.
When Desert Storm cam along, there was constant and official denial at all levels of any of our troops being exposed to nerve gas in Desert Storm? And yet why were so many thousands of veterans from that conflict unable to function normally?
All of this adds up to one sorry truth: We have not been good to our veterans. We like to act as though we were. We like to cover them in the flag of patriotism. But once the parades are past, we want them to go away.
Why is that? One simple reason: We as a nation have always thought of ourselves as a generous and compassionate people, but we invariably judge harshly those who are weaker than we are and who are recipients of our largesse. Or to put it more simply, we are critical of people whom we give our help to.
If you doubt that, listen to the ongoing political debate about welfare recipients. And yet the Savings and Loan bailout – welfare for the affluent -- cost more than all of the welfare costs since the 1930s. Another welfare program: Very little discussion took place in the last decade on the enormous bailout of the hedge funds that had the potential of wrecking the economy. But ah, those welfare mothers or people in prison. We as a nation are critical of people who need help even while we are helping them.
And so it is with veterans. We urge our best young women and men to fight and die for us, even if they do not always understand or fully believe what the fight is about. We venerate patriotism, but we find something irritating when patriots submit their expense vouchers.
"The issue on Veteran’s Day is not, Was the war right? Or, should we have been there? No, the issue on Veterans Days is that the young men who served in theaters around the world during World War II, who fought in Korea, who served in Vietnam, and later in the Balkans – they fought and died for us -- the people of this nation. Many suffered a terrible toll. We owe them a debt of gratitude and respect for the sacrifice they made, and which many are continuing to make. On this Veterans Day we honor all those who served. Blessed be."
posted on November 11, 2001 11:19:44 AM new
I usually celebrate Veterans day with my grandpap. It is really interesting listening to all his stories. We usually watch the war movies they show on tv too.
posted on November 11, 2001 12:00:55 PM new
A grateful and solemn Veteran's Day and a huge thank you to all veterans.
edited to change Happy to "grateful and solemn". It gave the wrong impression of my true sentiments. I am very sorry if I inadvertently offended anyone. It was not intentional. I feel incredibly lucky and blessed to be alive and well, able to recognize and honor veterans' sacrifices, and the standard holiday greeting just got typed in a rush. I should have said "grateful and solemn" in the first place.
[ edited by enchanted on Nov 12, 2001 05:08 AM ]
posted on November 12, 2001 03:01:05 AM new
The cruel war was over — oh, the triumph was so sweet!
We watched the troops returning, through our tears;
There was triumph, triumph, triumph down the scarlet glittering street
And you scarce could hear the music for the cheers.
And you scarce could see the house-tops for the flags that flew between;
The bells were pealing madly to the sky;
And everyone was shouting for the soldiers of the Queen,
And the glory of an age was passing by.
And then there came a shadow, swift and sudden, dark and drear;
The bells were silent, not an echo stirred.
The flags were drooping sullenly, the men forgot to cheer;
We waited, and we never spoke a word.
The sky grew darker, darker, till from out the gloomy rack
There came a voice that checked the heart with dread:
"Tear down, tear down your bunting now, and hang up sable black;
They are coming — it's the Army of the Dead."
They were coming, they were coming, gaunt and ghastly, sad and slow,
They were coming, all the crimson wrecks of pride;
With faces seared, and cheeks red smeared, and haunting eyes of woe,
And clotted holes the khaki couldn't hide.
Oh, the clammy brow of anguish! the livid, foam-flecked lips!
The reeling ranks of ruin swept along!
The limb that trailed, the hand that failed, the bloody finger tips
And oh, the dreary rhythm of their song!
"They left us on the veldt-side, but we felt we couldn't stop
On this, our England's crowning festal day;
We're the men of Magersfontein, we're the men of Spoin Kop,
Colenso — we're the men who had to pay.
We're the men who paid the blood-price.
Shall the grave be all our gain ?
You owe us. Long and heavy is the score.
Then cheer us for our glory now, and cheer us for our pain,
And cheer us as you never cheered before."
The folks were white and stricken, each tongue seemed weighed with lead;
Each heart was clutched in hollow hand of ice;
And every eye was staring at the horror of the dead,
The pity of the men who paid the price.
They were come, were come to mock us, in the first flush of our peace;
Through writhing lips their teeth were all agleam;
They were coming in their thousands — oh, would they never cease!
I closed my eyes and then — it was a dream.
I closed my eyes and then — it was a dream.
There was triumph, triumph, triumph down the scarlet gleaming street;
The town was mad; a man was like a boy.
A thousand flags were flaming where the sky and city meet;
A thousand bells were thundering the joy.
There was music, mirth and sunshine, but some eyes shone with regret;
And while we stun with cheers our homing braves,
O God, in Thy great mercy, let us nevermore forget
The graves they left behind, the bitter graves.
The graves they left behind, the bitter graves.
posted on November 12, 2001 03:31:47 AM new
From "For the Fallen" - Laurence Binyon
They went with songs to the battle, they were young,
Straight of limb, true of eye, steady and aglow.
They were staunch to the end against the odds uncounted,
They fell with their eyes to the foe.
They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old,
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning,
We will remember them.
I also wanted to edit my post but the edit feature had been turned off. When I reread the sermon that I posted, I noticed a glaring
point that I had overlooked.
From the sermon...
"The issue on Veteran’s Day is not, Was the war right? Or, should we have been there? No, the issue on Veterans Days is that the young men who served in theaters around the world during World War II, who fought in Korea, who served in Vietnam, and later in the Balkans – they fought and died for us -- the people of this nation. Many suffered a terrible toll. We owe them a debt of gratitude and respect for the sacrifice they made, and which many are continuing to make. On this Veterans Day we honor all those who served. Blessed be."
My objection to this remark is that consideration of the question, "Was the war right? Or, should we have been there? should in fact be under consideration. Although our focus should be on the Veterans, this question, Why we should be there? should always be under serious consideration too.
Sometimes it's difficult to express how we feel in just a few words but our thoughts, memories and feelings are in the right place.
