Reclaim Armistice Day - Did you know it was hi-jacked?

[FairWinds]

I'm a Vietnam vet, and wrote this as a corrective to all the pro-war propaganda we hear on Nov, 11th.

Veterans For Peace shares these sentiments. I am a proud member.

http://www.peacevoice.info/2014/11/08/reclaim-armistice-day-and-honor-the-real-heroes/

[niyad]

1. k and r

[deutsey]

2. Thank you

[earthside]

3. Excellent! n/t

[malthaussen]

4. Well, I posted these two poems earlier in another venue:

The first is by Wilfred Owen:

Dulce et Decorum Est

Bent double, like old beggars under sacks,
Knock-kneed, coughing like hags, we cursed through sludge,
Till on the haunting flares we turned our backs,
And towards our distant rest began to trudge.
Men marched asleep. Many had lost their boots,
But limped on, blood-shod. All went lame; all blind;
Drunk with fatigue; deaf even to the hoots
Of gas-shells dropping softly behind.
Gas! GAS! Quick, boys!—An ecstasy of fumbling
Fitting the clumsy helmets just in time,
But someone still was yelling out and stumbling
And flound’ring like a man in fire or lime.—
Dim through the misty panes and thick green light,
As under a green sea, I saw him drowning.
In all my dreams before my helpless sight,
He plunges at me, guttering, choking, drowning.
If in some smothering dreams, you too could pace
Behind the wagon that we flung him in,
And watch the white eyes writhing in his face,
His hanging face, like a devil’s sick of sin;
If you could hear, at every jolt, the blood
Come gargling from the froth-corrupted lungs,
Obscene as cancer, bitter as the cud
Of vile, incurable sores on innocent tongues,—
My friend, you would not tell with such high zest
To children ardent for some desperate glory,
The old Lie: dulce et decorum est
pro patria mori.

(Wilfred Owen, KIA 1918)

The second, a much feebler effort by your humble obedient:

"Over the Top"

On snowy fields my comrades lie
Sodden scarlet where they fall.
So proud to heed their country's call!
And prouder still to die.

Through shot and shell with hearty cry
My brothers pressed their breasts.
To die beneath machine-gun nests
As drumfire lit the Winter sky.

Their debt is paid, those brave young men
Who came so far to die.
To serve some politician's lie
To charge, and fall, and charge again.

They fought and died, and cared not why:
To them, we owe a debt.
We cannot pay, at least not yet
But someday we may try.

So, yeah, to answer your question, you could say I am aware it was hijacked.

-- Mal

[ashling]

8. Each of these poems

are awesome - in their retelling of the true measure of militarism and the cost of war


"I am tired; my heart is sick and sad. From where the sun now stands, I will fight no more forever."
- Chief Joseph

[lpbk2713]

9. Chief Joseph was way ahead of his time.

He was betrayed many times over by the US Govt and Army officers and bureaucrats he had contact with. And time and again he would come back without vengeance in his heart hoping for the best for his people. All he wanted in the end was to return to his home land but that was denied him for having stood up to the PTB.

[question everything]

5. "The war to end all wars" What a sad joke

At the 11th hour, on the 11th day of the 11th month…the guns fell silent along what was known then as the Western Front as the Allies and Germany observed the agreement to end this “War to End All Wars.”

[1monster]

7. "Again and again and again and again..."

[Enthusiast]

6. Kicked and recommended!

I'm glad to see this.

[hedda_foil]

10. Chris Hayes discussed it on his show yesterday.

Unfortunately, it's become so obscure that even Chris mispronounced the word several times as Ar-MIS-tice Day.

[Wounded Bear]

11. K & R...

Peace is not profitable enough for the MIC.



Thanks for the link. I've almost given up. When someone spots my USMC gear and makes a point of "thanking" me for my service, I usually just say thank you and keep on moving. OTOH someone bought my brother and I breakfast yesterday. Mostly, all the Vet's Day hoopla leaves me kind of flat.

[NuclearDem]

12. Hijacked! Grr. Damn WWII veterans wanting recognition as well.

Grr. One day a year for people to be forced to begrudgingly discuss veteran suicide, homelessness, PTSD, rape and sexual assault, and unemployment.

Doesn't VFP have a few Russian war crimes to go apologize for, or are they too busy kneecapping our own veterans?

[tkmorris]

13. It's not about WWI versus WWII

It's about remembering the importance of peace as opposed to glorifying war.

It's absolutely astounds me that you took this piece as a slight against veterans. Unbelievable.

[NuclearDem]

14. This piece completely rewrites the history of Veterans Day to suit VFP's agenda.

The idea for a National Veterans Day was proposed and first celebrated by WWII veterans on Armistice Day. Veterans lobbied Congress for the federal government to recognize such a day, and Eisenhower endorsed it.

This crap about Veterans Day being some sort of nefarious warmongering scheme is completely devoid of any sort of fact.

[tkmorris]

15. The bit about Congress hijacking it in '54 was a bit much

I'll give you that. The original point of Armistice Day though was in large part to remember that war is not glorious, but miserable.

Veteran's Day as celebrated nowadays has largely forgotten that lesson.