In Flanders Fields
In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie,
In Flanders fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.
— John McCrae
I hadn’t thought about the poem, In Flanders Fields, for years, but it is printed at the Gold Star Memorial in Jefferson City, and I saw it over the weekend. The ending line of if ye break faith with us who die, we shall not sleep - seems fitting, this Memorial Day. It is appropriate to honor the cause of freedom and democracy today.
Unfortunately, I have spend much of my online time today calling out traitors. Because attacking America is traitorous.
I was attacked by the ADL, along with my colleagues. And they used Missouri elected officials to do it, along with the now-dead Riverfront Times. Other journalists went along with the ADL as well.
And I continue to be attacked by random Twitter Troll accounts.
As I type this, Israel is attacking Rafah for the second night in a row. But their war is already here, in Missouri, being fought by people who do their bidding, and hidden by the sheer volume of crime. St. Louis seems so disorganized.
To those who lie in Flanders Fields, I will take your torch. Against those who fight against honor and decency, democracy and rule of law. The war against nihilism, against humanity.
I will fight those, whatever their party, who fight against America and all she stands for.
I will fight, so that you will not have fought in vain.
Thank you. "A war against nihilism" is appropriate. I'd also add "a war against mindless power-driven violence," because it is the lust for power that creates the hatreds and miseries.
I think the poem is also at the entrance to the WWI memorial in KC. The entryway there is a bit dizzying and extraordinarily memorable.