# The dumb soldier



## TheGreenHornet

*The Dumb Soldier*
_From Child's Garden of Verses_
When the grass was closely mown,
Walking on the lawn alone,
In the turf a hole I found,
And hid a soldier underground.

Spring and daisies came apace;
Grasses hid my hiding place;
Grasses run like a green sea
O'er the lawn up to my knee.

Under grass alone he lies,
Looking up with leaden eyes,
Scarlet coat and pointed gun,
To the stars and to the sun.

When the grass is ripe like grain,
When the scythe is stoned again,
When the lawn is shaven clear,
Then my hole shall reappear.

I shall find him, never fear,
I shall find my grenadier;
But for all that's gone and come,
I shall find my soldier dumb.

He has lived, a little thing,
In the grassy woods of spring;
Done, if he could tell me true,
Just as I should like to do.

He has seen the starry hours
And the springing of the flowers;
And the fairy things that pass
In the forests of the grass.

In the silence he has heard
Talking bee and ladybird,
And the butterfly has flown
O'er him as he lay alone.

Not a word will he disclose,
Not a word of all he knows.
I must lay him on the shelf,
And make up the tale myself.


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## there4eyeM

It is indeed 'dumb' to put on a uniform and accept becoming an automaton.


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## gipper

there4eyeM said:


> It is indeed 'dumb' to put on a uniform and accept becoming an automaton.


Equally dumb is venerating and glorifying American warriors...yet this seems quite common in America today.


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## mudwhistle

gipper said:


> there4eyeM said:
> 
> 
> 
> It is indeed 'dumb' to put on a uniform and accept becoming an automaton.
> 
> 
> 
> Equally dumb is venerating and glorifying American warriors...yet this seems quite common in America today.
Click to expand...

Yeah....thank God.


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## gipper

mudwhistle said:


> gipper said:
> 
> 
> 
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> 
> there4eyeM said:
> 
> 
> 
> It is indeed 'dumb' to put on a uniform and accept becoming an automaton.
> 
> 
> 
> Equally dumb is venerating and glorifying American warriors...yet this seems quite common in America today.
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> Yeah....thank God.
Click to expand...

Yes...killing and destroying for the ruling class, is so God like.


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## Flash

My great, great great grandfather was a Civil War veteran.

My grandfather was a WWI veteran

My father was a WWII veteran

I am a Vietnam War Veteran

My son is an Iraqi War veteran.

How many of those wars were dumb?  I think the answer is all of them.  However, we all did our duty to our country at the time.  We all have our veteran's uniforms hanging in closets or stored away in a chest.   We all have the experience of being part of something bigger than ourselves.  We earned our right to be a citizens of this country rather than it just being handed to us or stealing it by being illegal.  

Wars are always dumb.  We humans like to fight one another.  It is in our nature.  This stupid hippy placard thingy about "suppose they gave a war and nobody came" sounds cute but goes against human nature.


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## mudwhistle

gipper said:


> mudwhistle said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> gipper said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> there4eyeM said:
> 
> 
> 
> It is indeed 'dumb' to put on a uniform and accept becoming an automaton.
> 
> 
> 
> Equally dumb is venerating and glorifying American warriors...yet this seems quite common in America today.
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> Yeah....thank God.
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> Yes...killing and destroying for the ruling class, is so God like.
Click to expand...

So you think that the only thing soldiers do is kill?
Did you know that most of the emergency aide last year after natural disasters was provided by soldiers in our military?


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## there4eyeM

The choice of reducing oneself to a pawn for others is the most serious thing one can do. "Just following orders" is an inhuman excuse for committing crimes. That humans do it does not mean it is part of our nature, only that it is a potential that can be obviated by other potentials. 
Again, 'we' don't want a population that thinks; 'we' want obedience.


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## gipper

mudwhistle said:


> gipper said:
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> mudwhistle said:
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> gipper said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> there4eyeM said:
> 
> 
> 
> It is indeed 'dumb' to put on a uniform and accept becoming an automaton.
> 
> 
> 
> Equally dumb is venerating and glorifying American warriors...yet this seems quite common in America today.
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> Yeah....thank God.
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> Yes...killing and destroying for the ruling class, is so God like.
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> So you think that the only thing soldiers do is kill?
> Did you know that most of the emergency aide last year after natural disasters was provided by soldiers in our military?
Click to expand...

Yeah...that's why we have the largest military in the world, by far...because we need it for emergency aid.


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## midcan5

Frankly the laziness and lack of thought of the American libertarian and conservative snowflakes astounds those of us who did serve. And 'dumb' is silent, and if you believe as most do our soldiers look down on you poor examples of humanity and wonders. I'd love to see the draft come back and for the weak and afraid community service for those living in a free country. You flakes talk freedom but you hide from any responsibility for it. 

"A people that values its privileges above its principles soon loses both."  Dwight D. Eisenhower

"In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex.  The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist....We must never let the weight of this combination endanger our liberties or democratic processes.  We should take nothing for granted.  Only an alert and knowledgeable citizenry can compel the proper meshing of the huge industrial and military machinery of defense with our peaceful methods and goals, so that security and liberty may prosper together." Dwight D. Eisenhower  - Eisenhower's Farewell Address to the Nation  January 17, 1961 Eisenhower's Farewell Address to the Nation


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## mudwhistle

gipper said:


> mudwhistle said:
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> gipper said:
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> mudwhistle said:
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> gipper said:
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> 
> there4eyeM said:
> 
> 
> 
> It is indeed 'dumb' to put on a uniform and accept becoming an automaton.
> 
> 
> 
> Equally dumb is venerating and glorifying American warriors...yet this seems quite common in America today.
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> Yeah....thank God.
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> Yes...killing and destroying for the ruling class, is so God like.
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> So you think that the only thing soldiers do is kill?
> Did you know that most of the emergency aide last year after natural disasters was provided by soldiers in our military?
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> Yeah...that's why we have the largest military in the world, by far...because we need it for emergency aid.
Click to expand...

Actually the Chinese have a larger military. 
Our's is just the most expensive.


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## gipper

midcan5 said:


> Frankly the laziness and lack of thought of the American libertarian and conservative snowflakes astounds those of us who did serve. And 'dumb' is silent, and if you believe as most do our soldiers look down on you poor examples of humanity and wonders. I'd love to see the draft come back and for the weak and afraid community service for those living in a free country. You flakes talk freedom but you hide from any responsibility for it.
> 
> "A people that values its privileges above its principles soon loses both."  Dwight D. Eisenhower
> 
> "In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex.  The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist....We must never let the weight of this combination endanger our liberties or democratic processes.  We should take nothing for granted.  Only an alert and knowledgeable citizenry can compel the proper meshing of the huge industrial and military machinery of defense with our peaceful methods and goals, so that security and liberty may prosper together." Dwight D. Eisenhower  - Eisenhower's Farewell Address to the Nation  January 17, 1961 Eisenhower's Farewell Address to the Nation


Yeah...they are fighting for my freedoms in Iraq, Afghanistan, Niger, Syria, Libya, etc........................................

*U.S. Currently Fighting 74 Different Wars … That It Will Publicly Admit*
Posted on May 11, 2013 by WashingtonsBlog
*And Many More Covert Wars Without Congressional Oversight … Let Alone Public Knowledge*
Fire Dog Lake’s Kevin Gosztola notes:

Linda J. Bilmes and Michael D. Intriligator, ask in a recent paper, “How many wars is the US fighting today?”

Today US military operations are involved in scores of countries across all the five continents. *The US military is the world’s largest landlord*, with significant military facilities in nations around the world, and with a significant presence in *Bahrain, Djibouti,Turkey, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iraq, Afghanistan, Kosovo, and Kyrgyzstan*, in addition to long-established bases in *Germany, Japan, South Korea, Italy, and the UK*.  Some of these are vast, such as the Al Udeid Air Force Base in Qatar, the forward headquarters of the United States Central Command, which has recently been expanded to accommodate up to 10,000 troops and 120 aircraft.


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## gipper

mudwhistle said:


> gipper said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> mudwhistle said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
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> gipper said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> mudwhistle said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> gipper said:
> 
> 
> 
> Equally dumb is venerating and glorifying American warriors...yet this seems quite common in America today.
> 
> 
> 
> Yeah....thank God.
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> Yes...killing and destroying for the ruling class, is so God like.
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> So you think that the only thing soldiers do is kill?
> Did you know that most of the emergency aide last year after natural disasters was provided by soldiers in our military?
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> Yeah...that's why we have the largest military in the world, by far...because we need it for emergency aid.
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> Actually the Chinese have a larger military.
> Our's is just the most expensive.
Click to expand...

a distinction without a difference


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## mudwhistle

gipper said:


> mudwhistle said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> gipper said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> mudwhistle said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> gipper said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> mudwhistle said:
> 
> 
> 
> Yeah....thank God.
> 
> 
> 
> Yes...killing and destroying for the ruling class, is so God like.
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> So you think that the only thing soldiers do is kill?
> Did you know that most of the emergency aide last year after natural disasters was provided by soldiers in our military?
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> Yeah...that's why we have the largest military in the world, by far...because we need it for emergency aid.
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> Actually the Chinese have a larger military.
> Our's is just the most expensive.
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> a distinction without a difference
Click to expand...

A big difference. 
The Chinese have fewer capabilities but can deploy a massive army. Their pilots are better because they're career officers that are more expirienced.
Their weapons systems are cheaper because they never have to pay much for their development.


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## The Sage of Main Street

there4eyeM said:


> The choice of reducing oneself to a pawn for others is the most serious thing one can do."
> Again, 'we' don't want a population that thinks; 'we' want obedience.


*The Yellow Yell, and Hollow Fools Follow*

So is being a pawn of the snobbish, selfish, and unpatriotic cowards who despise our troops.


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