Posted on 07/04/2002 6:23:12 PM PDT by section9
You know, this has been a bittersweet Fourth for me.
No, it's not because I am anyway dismayed by the course of the War or have any misgivings about its outcome.
What I am dismayed about is that we, who suffered so great a loss on September 11th, have been so readily abandoned by our "friends" in Europe. That we must now suffer the indignities of the likes of John Pilger, Robert Fisk, or George Monbiot. These are men who would rather cuddle up to evil, appease evil, praise evil, rather than summon up the moral courage to condemn it to the memory of man.
We who bailed out Europe twice in the last Century, and stood guard against the Soviet Empire so that Europe might remain free, appear to have few, if any, friends when it is our time of need. Even Prime Minister Blair may not be able to hold his Labour back bench for long, and may face an internal revolt, should we decide that Saddam must be removed.
And it hit me, on this July 4th, more than any day I've ever lived, that we are alone in this war and in this world. Now bitching about it won't help. No one else on this planet really wants to be bothred. No one can really wants to see the threat of Islamic fascism. They merely rationalize the threat or succumb to moral equivalence.
But the American people do. In their bones. That's why they support this war at the levels they do. They see the threat, and understand the evil, and even if they must go on alone, they will.
What are the American people to think at a time like this, when no one really wants to get involved, when everyone wants to make an excuse, or rationalize away the evil.
Well, I don't exactly want to impose, but this is what I think when I think of America alone and at bay. I think of a small army encamped outside of a villiage in Northern France in October of 1415. I think of Agincourt....
Enter the KING
WESTMORELAND
O that we now had here
But one ten thousand of those men in England
That do no work to-day!
KING HENRY V
What's he that wishes so?
My cousin Westmoreland? No, my fair cousin:
If we are mark'd to die, we are enow
To do our country loss; and if to live,
The fewer men, the greater share of honour.
God's will! I pray thee, wish not one man more.
By Jove, I am not covetous for gold,
Nor care I who doth feed upon my cost;
It yearns me not if men my garments wear;
Such outward things dwell not in my desires:
But if it be a sin to covet honour,
I am the most offending soul alive.
No, faith, my coz, wish not a man from England:
God's peace! I would not lose so great an honour
As one man more, methinks, would share from me
For the best hope I have. O, do not wish one more!
Rather proclaim it, Westmoreland, through my host,
That he which hath no stomach to this fight,
Let him depart; his passport shall be made
And crowns for convoy put into his purse:
We would not die in that man's company
That fears his fellowship to die with us.
This day is called the feast of Crispian:
He that outlives this day, and comes safe home,
Will stand a tip-toe when the day is named,
And rouse him at the name of Crispian.
He that shall live this day, and see old age,
Will yearly on the vigil feast his neighbours,
And say 'To-morrow is Saint Crispian:'
Then will he strip his sleeve and show his scars.
And say 'These wounds I had on Crispin's day.'
Old men forget: yet all shall be forgot,
But he'll remember with advantages
What feats he did that day: then shall our names.
Familiar in his mouth as household words
Harry the king, Bedford and Exeter,
Warwick and Talbot, Salisbury and Gloucester,
Be in their flowing cups freshly remember'd.
This story shall the good man teach his son;
And Crispin Crispian shall ne'er go by,
From this day to the ending of the world,
But we in it shall be remember'd;
We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;
For he to-day that sheds his blood with me
Shall be my brother; be he ne'er so vile,
This day shall gentle his condition:
And gentlemen in England now a-bed
Shall think themselves accursed they were not here,
And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks
That fought with us upon Saint Crispin's day.
"Wish not one man more!" my friends, for we Americans are enough to do our country honor.
We will carry on and win, with our allies, or in spite of them.
And a prediction, if I may be so bold: at the end of the day, when we have counted up our friends and our enemies, we shall find that we can do without some of our friends.
Be Seeing You,
Chris
Good post. Thanks!
We will know better.
We have recieved our warning order.
The time to prepare is now.
My best to you and all Freepers.
God Bless America!
I figured that was a given, but nice to see that someone put it into words/writing.
And, if the euro-weenies don't believe it, tell em to hide in their holes, hold on to their "valuables", and freakin watch.
Ruck
Tomorrow it is time to go buy a new flag and replace the old, tattered one. I am thankful and proud to live in this great land.
God bless America.
What depresses one are the voice of members of the Government in Whitehall making excuses to pacify the Back Bench, when the situation calls for Churchillian resolution. The thing is, I know the Brits have it in them. They don't see the threat to their survival quite yet. Consequently, people like Pilger, Fisk, Glenda Jackson, and other members of the Anti-American Left carry far more weight than is probably suspected on our side of the Atlantic. It's sort of like the Appeasement wing of the Tory Party in the late 1930's who believed that one could "deal with" Herr Hitler.
It is so much easier to cater to the fashionable Anti-Americanism of the European chattering classes than to actually think through the consequences of this set of assumptions.
By the way, I wouldn't worry so much about our people. I know that there was a Luntz survey that came out recently. Luntz took a poll that indicated that many American college kids didn't want to fight, but I don't worry. When the rubber meets the road, they will. It's the Eurotrash who have no idea what they are in for.
Be Seeing You,
Chris
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