Dulce Et Decorum Est

[sangiro 26]

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 disappointed shells that dropped 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 floundering 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
Safe swoops
Sangiro

[billvon 3,116]

That, I fear, is a lesson each generation must learn anew. It's sad that it takes experiencing war to turn it from a glorious patriotic endeavor to what it is - the systematic torture and extermination of men, women and children you have never met. (And that's if you're lucky.) I have to wonder if future generations will look at our fervor for war the same way we look at ancient peoples who left their children to die on a hillside, as nearly-inhuman barbarians.
-bill von

[sangiro 26]

Quote

That, I fear, is a lesson each generation must learn anew

Sad thing is you're probably right. Also unfortunate is that every time we learn this lesson we realize only after the fact that the cost of our education is too enormous to be borne by that generation alone.
Safe swoops
Sangiro

[Jessica 0]

...first published in 1921.
No, it's not updated.

[skreamer 1]

Thing that makes Owen's poems even more poignant is the fact that he died in the *war to end all wars*. He was only 25 as well, can you imagine the work he would have produced if he wasn't killed so young?
Will
"Don't die until you're dead"

[riggerrob 643]

Why is it that when you: trespass, rape, loot, pillage, plunder, vandalise, abduct, etc. in your home town, you are branded a criminal, but if you do it in someone else's home town, you are a hero?
Despite 13 years in uniform, I was never able to wrap my mind around that concept. Nor was I ever able to understand homophobia in the military.
Will someone please explain?

[scottbre 0]

Quote

Will someone please explain?

Narrowmindedness?
"Vindictiveness aside, the matchbook was a decent doubles partner. . ."

[SkyDekker 1,465]

I just can't believe that soo many people these days still believe that Dulce et Decorum est pro Patria Mori is actually true.........
And they say that religion is the opium of the people........
SkyDekker
"We cannot do great things, only small things with great love" Mother Theresa

[billvon 3,116]

>Why is it that when you: trespass, rape, loot, pillage, plunder, vandalise, abduct,
> etc. in your home town, you are branded a criminal, but if you do it in someone
> else's home town, you are a hero?
Because that sentiment is good for the country you're fighting for, and is thus encouraged.
>Nor was I ever able to understand homophobia in the military.
I think it's primarily a combination of testosterone and intolerance, both of which are critical to armies. High levels of testosterone has been associated with violence, and such people often make willing soldiers. During wartime, intolerance is actively taught - it's easy to kill someone you hate.
-bill von

[jfields 0]

From the historical quote thread:

Quote

It is forbidden to kill; therefore all murderers are punished unless they kill in large numbers and to the sound of trumpets.
-Voltaire

War as a whole has always puzzled me, despite having been in the Army. I think the people most in favor of it fall into two categories:
Those that have never seen any effects of war, firsthand or otherwise and see it as daring or adventurous.
Those that have been touched by war and have never been able to come to terms with it, getting trapped within a warlike mentality.

Quote

>Nor was I ever able to understand homophobia in the military.
-------------------
I think it's primarily a combination of testosterone and intolerance

I don't think testosterone has anything to do with it, although I think Bill is right on the intolerance. I think the other half of the combination is fear. Fear or things that are different. Fear of being curious themselves. Fear of not acting macho like everyone else. It is one fear the military has been completely unsuccessful in addressing.
Justin

[PalmettoTiger 1]

Today is the anniversary of the last German offensive of WWI. Was this post inspired by the Somme assault and your recent visit to Paris?
PTiger
I'm stepping through the door
And I'm floating in a most peculiar way

[sangiro 26]

No PT. It's just that I've been there. I simply wish people would not beat the drums so frantically and romantically.
Safe swoops
Sangiro

[wingnut 0]

i got to visit the american cemetary in luxembourg city in luxembourg, 4,500 crosses and starts o f david...across town there is the german cemetary with just as many.... an awsome sight to see...hard to comprehend unless ya see it in person...........
p.s. i have a picture of it but i don't have the editing tool to make it small enogh to post...anybody want to edit a pic for me if i e-mail it to em?

"i may not go to heven, i hope you go to hell"-C.C.

[PhreeZone 20]

Wingi... mail it to me.
I wish you would step back from that ledge my friend... ~3EB