Friday, April 15, 2011

The Siren Call To Arms

Those who lead us so bravely into war never seem to carry any weapons
Those forced to do the dying never had a quarrel with those they are told to kill
Merchants profiting, go dressed as patriots and keep their children safe at home
Society must fill the youth who might refuse them with the guilt of cowardly traitors

Politicians call upon the lord to bless us in our righteous struggle with the heathen
Mothers sigh and shake their heads as they wipe away their bitter tears
Propaganda tells of our great victories and of enemies who would eat our children
Crippled soldiers return lost and mortally embittered by the pursuit of duty’s glory

The military is instructed to keep the flag-draped coffins away from the public’s eyes
Thus does every small town come to realize, that only its heroes come home in caskets
Leaders demand support for their false causes so that our fallen sons do not die in vain
The alienated lament the sacrifices made for the mere vanity of those in charge

Younger brothers eagerly await the day they can proudly join the elder sons
A father’s cautionary tale cannot be heard for the media’s call to explosive glory
Unquestioned annual increases pile upon already utterly unimaginable military spending
Unlike welfare, only the unpatriotic ask for a reckoning as to where dEfense money goes

Complicit religious leaders praise our cause and lead us in sponsored prayer for our troops
A pitifully small minority foolishly appeal to mercy, love, reason and understanding
Conservative elected officials abhor the gloom and doom claptrap of that liberal media
Their own hand-crafted stories are, however, often exposed as clumsy pre-fabrications

We are told of vast, loose but well-organized networks of highly-trained enemies
We see only a few dirty bearded men in tire sandals dragged from 3rd world slums and caves
Our path is foolish, arrogant, badly-planned and stubbornly incorrect
They preach that we cannot afford the just consequences of their own immoral stupidity

We are told dissent over ill-conceived and shortsighted policies gives aid to our enemies
But, that our self-anointed exceptionism provides us a strong moral armor going forward
Squishy, feminine calls for peace have been marginalized into the ridiculous
They have finally sown a hardy hatred and disrespect for us, throughout the entire world

But you’ll be better fathers and husbands for having seen terrified children maimed
They’ll ask if you killed terrorists and you’ll see their frightened faces once again
You won’t talk much about it because others wouldn’t understand
Why you’ll probably even work hard to end this vile practice of war, I am quite sure

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