I salute you, all you soldiers and warriors of past and present, you who were brave, valiant and/or crazy enough to put your lives on the line for something you believed in. For some of you it was a cause, for some, it was to protect, support and defend your own people.
To the Maccabees, to the first Joshua, to the Samurai, the Mongols, to Arthur and the knights of the round table, to American Indian warriors, my darling George Washington, all my dear dead brothers who fought in the Civil War and First World War, to those who served in Vietnam (currently rumbling through DC on Harleys), to vets of the Gulf War, Afghanistan, Iraq, I salute you all. And a salute to all I haven't named here.
Thanks also to the many writers who have helped people like me understand the experience of battle and the "spoils" of war. Thank you Dalton Trumbo, Sloan Wilson, Michael Ondaatje, etc. I do NOT salute the institution of war.
What is remembered, lives. Rest in peace, dear ones. At least try, OK?
6 comments:
Peace. Close enough for some many of us to see. Why is it so easy for others to look away? Maybe if we remembered the fallen better...
Beautiful post on this Memorial Day and one to remember all year long. Very well stated!
I love the pictures with the fallen pedals. An appropriate choice, natch.
Beautiful images to go with your words.
And I hope some of the peace you send spreads our way, goodness knows we need it right now with all the senseless and violent xenophobia that's hitting our cities.
Beautiful Post.
Bravo! It's sometimes hard for people to see how we can salute veterans while condemning war...even though many veterans themselves condemn war the most strongly.
amen
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