The dumb soldier

The Dumb Soldier
From Child's Garden of Verses
When the grass was closely mown,
Walking on the lawn alone,
In the turf a hole I found,
And hid a soldier underground.

Spring and daisies came apace;
Grasses hid my hiding place;
Grasses run like a green sea
O'er the lawn up to my knee.

Under grass alone he lies,
Looking up with leaden eyes,
Scarlet coat and pointed gun,
To the stars and to the sun.

When the grass is ripe like grain,
When the scythe is stoned again,
When the lawn is shaven clear,
Then my hole shall reappear.

I shall find him, never fear,
I shall find my grenadier;
But for all that's gone and come,
I shall find my soldier dumb.

He has lived, a little thing,
In the grassy woods of spring;
Done, if he could tell me true,
Just as I should like to do.

He has seen the starry hours
And the springing of the flowers;
And the fairy things that pass
In the forests of the grass.

In the silence he has heard
Talking bee and ladybird,
And the butterfly has flown
O'er him as he lay alone.

Not a word will he disclose,
Not a word of all he knows.
I must lay him on the shelf,
And make up the tale myself.

 

It is indeed 'dumb' to put on a uniform and accept becoming an automaton.

 

Equally dumb is venerating and glorifying American warriors...yet this seems quite common in America today.

 

Yeah....thank God.

 

Yes...killing and destroying for the ruling class, is so God like.

 

My great, great great grandfather was a Civil War veteran.

My grandfather was a WWI veteran

My father was a WWII veteran

I am a Vietnam War Veteran

My son is an Iraqi War veteran.

How many of those wars were dumb? I think the answer is all of them. However, we all did our duty to our country at the time. We all have our veteran's uniforms hanging in closets or stored away in a chest. We all have the experience of being part of something bigger than ourselves. We earned our right to be a citizens of this country rather than it just being handed to us or stealing it by being illegal.

Wars are always dumb. We humans like to fight one another. It is in our nature. This stupid hippy placard thingy about "suppose they gave a war and nobody came" sounds cute but goes against human nature.

 

So you think that the only thing soldiers do is kill?
Did you know that most of the emergency aide last year after natural disasters was provided by soldiers in our military?

 

The choice of reducing oneself to a pawn for others is the most serious thing one can do. "Just following orders" is an inhuman excuse for committing crimes. That humans do it does not mean it is part of our nature, only that it is a potential that can be obviated by other potentials.
Again, 'we' don't want a population that thinks; 'we' want obedience.

 

Yeah...that's why we have the largest military in the world, by far...because we need it for emergency aid.

 

Frankly the laziness and lack of thought of the American libertarian and conservative snowflakes astounds those of us who did serve. And 'dumb' is silent, and if you believe as most do our soldiers look down on you poor examples of humanity and wonders. I'd love to see the draft come back and for the weak and afraid community service for those living in a free country. You flakes talk freedom but you hide from any responsibility for it.

"A people that values its privileges above its principles soon loses both." Dwight D. Eisenhower

"In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist....We must never let the weight of this combination endanger our liberties or democratic processes. We should take nothing for granted. Only an alert and knowledgeable citizenry can compel the proper meshing of the huge industrial and military machinery of defense with our peaceful methods and goals, so that security and liberty may prosper together." Dwight D. Eisenhower - Eisenhower's Farewell Address to the Nation January 17, 1961 Eisenhower's Farewell Address to the Nation