RE: Today is St Crispin's Day
※→ BULLDOG, et al,
I have to agree, there is more than just bit of truth to this observation.
Nobody cares about the real St Crispin. The celebration is more a commemoration of the speech in Shakespeare's Henry V
(COMMENT)
I have a BS Degree (The Ohio State). But I learned little about Shakespeare. I do recall an action movie about Theodore Roosevelt which depicted a group of Rough Rider Volunteers and a Machine Gun position manned by some young and educated infantry fighters reciting these words about St Crispin's Day. It was a typical "romanticizing" of war and combat.
I think our friend "Bulldog" is very correct. Most people, who actually "listen" to the words feel a moment, an inspirational moment; and maybe, in the back of their mind, are touched by the word passage that
(something to the effect) that → "shall think themselves accursed they were not here, And hold their manhood cheap whiles any speaks."
(In classic contemporary terms -- they had no "ball"). I am an RVN vet; but I was so far in the rear, other soldiers thought I was in the Navy. And every now and then, I feel the pang of guilt and shame that I did not face the elephant.
So, it probably is true that the passage → "we few, we happy few, we band of brothers" → actually belongs to those that risked the ultimate. They probably don't give a thought to the "Battle of Agincourt."
Most Respectfully,
R