Posted on 09/06/2001 8:39:30 PM PDT by Commonsense
I received this by Email tonight. I post it in honor of the American Flag and all FreeRepublic Veterans and Patriots.
It is the soldier, not the reporter,
who has given us freedom of the press.
It is the soldier, not the poet,
who has given us freedom of speech.
It is the soldier, not the campus organizer,
who has given us the freedom to demonstrate.
It is the soldier, not the lawyer,
who has given us the right to a fair trial.
It is the soldier,
who salutes the flag,
who serves under the flag,
and whose coffin is draped by the flag,
who allows the protester to burn the flag.
A protest raged on a courthouse lawn,
Round a makeshift stage they charged on,
Fifteen hundred or more they say,
Had come to burn a Flag that day.
A boy held up the folded Flag,
Cursed it, and called it a dirty rag.
An OLD MAN pushed through the angry crowd,
With a rusty shotgun shouldered proud.
His uniform jacket was old and tight,
He had polished each button, shiny and bright.
He crossed that stage with a soldier's grace,
Until he and the boy stood face to face.
"FREEDOM OF SPEECH", the OLD MAN said,
"Is worth dying for, good men are dead,
So you can stand on this courthouse lawn,
And talk us down from dusk to dawn,
But before any Flag gets burned today,
This OLD MAN IS GOING TO HAVE HIS SAY!!
My father died on a foreign shore,
In a war they said would end all war.
But Tommy and I wasn't even full grown,
Before we fought in a war of our own.
And Tommy died on Iwo Jima's beach,
In the shadow of a hill he couldn't quite reach
Where five good men raised this Flag so high,
That the WHOLE DAMN WORLD COULD SEE IT FLY.
I got this bum leg that I still drag,
Fighting for this same old Flag.
Now there's but one shot in this old gun,
So now it's time to decide which one,
Which one of you will follow our lead,
To stand and die for what you believe?
For as sure as there is a rising sun,
You'll burn in Hell 'fore this Flag burns, son
Now this riot never came to pass
The crowd got quiet and that can of gas,
Got set aside as they walked away
To talk about what they had heard this day.
And the boy who had called it a "dirty rag",
Handed the OLD SOLDIER the folded Flag.
So the battle of the Flag this day was won
By a tired OLD SOLDIER with a rusty gun,
Who for one last time, had to show to some,
THIS FLAG MAY FADE, YET THESE COLORS DON'T RUN.
I want us to stand up and get louder and louder - to tell those of the US Open that we won't stand for our National Anthem NOT being played - to tell the NOW that they're a group of idiots and we're not taking it from them any more - to Congress that Condit and people like him affect and effect ALL of us, NOT just his consituents - to tell Clinton that he's not welcome in this country any more - I want my country back! I want morals back in my country! I want God in our lives and respect for Him shown openly and plainly. I want . . . What do you want?
Being a girl-child of the sixties and seventies, I was never a soldier, but my grandfathers were, my father was and my husband was. I thank all of you who were soldiers for fighting for our right to have this Forum, to have a place to practice our Freedom. You gave it to us. THANK YOU!
I didn't know they weren't playing the Anthem at the Open. What's the excuse or who's pissed off that we would dare display pride in our country?
Thanks again for the most inspirational post I've read tonite - so much better than some of the liberal crap I've seen.
On Britt Hume's Grapevine segment tonight, he said the National Tennis Association decided that since people from other countries are playing there, it would be inappropriate for us to play our national anthem. The flag will fly, but they're playing America the Beautiful instead. Now, I ask: At Wimbledon, do they not play "God Save the Queen" and at the French Open, do they not play "La Marsielles"? Doesn't the Olympic Committee play each gold medalist's national anthem? This is sickening and I think we should en masse email them on it.
Thank you for helping to keep us free.
Any foreign player who does not like our anthem being played can find something else to do for two weeks next year.
I found this particularly offensive and was outraged when I heard it. New York FReepers need to gather outside and sing it at the top of their lungs.
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