Clay Mitchell's Blog - Posts Tagged "intervention"
Do you appreciate those who fight for our freedom?
As our leaders banter and bloviate over whether to involve our country in another foreign "Charlie Foxtrot" of epic proportions, I can't help but feel sorry for our brave young men and women who signed up for the high ideal of furthering democracy, human dignity, freedom, rights and liberties that are granted to all men and stolen by the few.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not shy about going to war when there is a clear enemy and a clear directive, but anytime the strategy and the resulting action does not further the core mission of this country; clearly achieving results that align with our values; and definitively accomplishing change in accordance with clearly stated objectives, nothing good can come of it. Who would give their life for anything less? Who should be asked to? Who has the right to ask?
We have a dictator accused of horrendous crimes against his people being overthrown by known enemies of the United States. If we aren't engaging with the clear objective of diffusing the situation completely in the name of righteousness, and if we aren't willing to address the real problem and eliminate it, then we should stay home.
Sometimes two kids get in a fight and they are both wrong. If we aren't willing to send them both home with their tails between their legs, then we have no business getting involved, especially when both kids would just as soon kill us as look at us, and more especially as an afterthought when so much damage has already been done. Just in case we do get involved, I think it's high time we said a prayer for those who put their lives on the line to serve their country. Here is my Ode to the Warrior:
Hail to Thee Sweet Warrior
Come, lay down your sword and return your weapons to the armament.
Hang up your boots and lay your head upon the pillows of conformity.
Sleep deeply, and awake to the gentle breeze in the wood.
Listen to the songbirds as they sing your praise and welcome you to a place of peace.
You have earned a special place on the high plains of eternity.
Now, as you walk among your brethren, you must remember that you have risen above them.
You have walked in a dimension not known to the common man.
They may call you hero and try to imagine themselves that special breed, but they cannot comprehend its true meaning.
They may call you killer and despise your calling, but they know in their hearts that they could never endure the harsh reality where you not only survived but thrived.
Many know the existence of good and evil, but many prefer the fairy tale endings of their bedtime stories.
That’s okay, you saved them too.
Man walks two plains in this journey called life. Some, like you, know the real meaning of life, for they have walked the high plain where heroes prevail, martyrs fall, death looms, and the winds of glory still blow.
You have lived outside the bubble, you have guarded the gate where others fear to tread, you have overcome an enemy that others do not even know, and you have watched your brothers fall so that others may never have to know the evil over the wall.
May God forever shed his grace upon thee for the sacrifice you have made, and may your name forever be written in the book of life. For you, unlike most, have really lived life.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not shy about going to war when there is a clear enemy and a clear directive, but anytime the strategy and the resulting action does not further the core mission of this country; clearly achieving results that align with our values; and definitively accomplishing change in accordance with clearly stated objectives, nothing good can come of it. Who would give their life for anything less? Who should be asked to? Who has the right to ask?
We have a dictator accused of horrendous crimes against his people being overthrown by known enemies of the United States. If we aren't engaging with the clear objective of diffusing the situation completely in the name of righteousness, and if we aren't willing to address the real problem and eliminate it, then we should stay home.
Sometimes two kids get in a fight and they are both wrong. If we aren't willing to send them both home with their tails between their legs, then we have no business getting involved, especially when both kids would just as soon kill us as look at us, and more especially as an afterthought when so much damage has already been done. Just in case we do get involved, I think it's high time we said a prayer for those who put their lives on the line to serve their country. Here is my Ode to the Warrior:
Hail to Thee Sweet Warrior
Come, lay down your sword and return your weapons to the armament.
Hang up your boots and lay your head upon the pillows of conformity.
Sleep deeply, and awake to the gentle breeze in the wood.
Listen to the songbirds as they sing your praise and welcome you to a place of peace.
You have earned a special place on the high plains of eternity.
Now, as you walk among your brethren, you must remember that you have risen above them.
You have walked in a dimension not known to the common man.
They may call you hero and try to imagine themselves that special breed, but they cannot comprehend its true meaning.
They may call you killer and despise your calling, but they know in their hearts that they could never endure the harsh reality where you not only survived but thrived.
Many know the existence of good and evil, but many prefer the fairy tale endings of their bedtime stories.
That’s okay, you saved them too.
Man walks two plains in this journey called life. Some, like you, know the real meaning of life, for they have walked the high plain where heroes prevail, martyrs fall, death looms, and the winds of glory still blow.
You have lived outside the bubble, you have guarded the gate where others fear to tread, you have overcome an enemy that others do not even know, and you have watched your brothers fall so that others may never have to know the evil over the wall.
May God forever shed his grace upon thee for the sacrifice you have made, and may your name forever be written in the book of life. For you, unlike most, have really lived life.
