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THE BATTLE OF 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 reachWhere 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, sonNow 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.
The SoldierIt 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.
What to do if you happen upon a peace rally by naive hemp-shirt-wearing college kids, to teach them why force is sometimes needed. No need for more complex examples. This is a simple way to make your point.1. Approach student talking about "peace" and saying there should be, "no retaliation."
2. Engage in brief conversation, ask if military force is appropriate.
3. When he says "No," ask, "Why not?"
4. Wait until he says something to the effect of, "Because that would just cause more innocent deaths, which would be awful and we should not cause more violence." Or "America has brought it on itself, given its imperialist actions and has angered the people of..."
5. When he's in mid sentence, punch him in the face as hard as you can.
6. When he gets back up to punch you, point out that it would be a mistake and contrary to his values to strike you, because that would, "be awful and he should not cause more violence." In addition, tell him that his "actions angered you and that he brought it on himself."
7. Wait until he agrees that he has pledged not to commit additional violence and that the reason you punched him was mostly his fault.
8. Punch him in the face again, harder this time. Repeat steps 5 through 8 until he understands that sometimes it is necessary to punch back.
Two Thousand One, Nine Eleven
Two thousand one, nine eleven
Five thousand plus arrive in heavenAs they pass through the gate,
Thousands more appear in waitA bearded man with stovepipe hat
Steps forward saying, "Lets sit, lets chat"They settle down in seats of clouds
A man named Martin shouts out proud"I have a dream!" and once he did
The Newcomer said, "Your dream still lives."Groups of soldiers in blue and gray
Others in khaki, and green then say"We're from Bull Run, Yorktown, the Maine"
The Newcomer said, "You died not in vain."From a man on sticks one could hear
"The only thing we have to fear.The Newcomer said, "We know the rest,
trust us sir, we've passed that test.""Courage doesn't hide in caves
You can't bury freedom, in a grave,"The Newcomers had heard this voice before
A distinct Yankees twang from Hyannisport shoresA silence fell within the mist
Somehow the Newcomer knew that thisMeant time had come for her to say
What was in the hearts of the five thousand plus that day"Back on Earth, we wrote reports,
Watched our children play in sportsWorked our gardens, sang our songs
Went to church and clipped couponsWe smiled, we laughed, we cried, we fought
Unlike you, great we're not"The tall man in the stovepipe hat
Stood and said, "don't talk like that!Look at your country, look and see
You died for freedom, just like me"Then, before them all appeared a scene
Of rubbled streets and twisted beamsDeath, destruction, smoke and dust
And people working just 'cause they mustHauling ash,
lifting stones,Knee deep in hell
But not alone"Look! Blackman, Whiteman, Brownman, Yellowman
Side by side helping their fellow man!"So said Martin, as he watched the scene
"Even from nightmares, can be born a dream."Down below three firemen raised
The colors high into ashen hazeThe soldiers above had seen it before
On Iwo Jima back in '44The man on sticks studied everything closely
Then shared his perceptions on what he saw mostly"I see pain, I see tears,
I see sorrow - but I don't see fear.""You left behind husbands and wives
Daughters and sons and so many livesare suffering now because of this wrong
But look very closely. You're not really gone.All of those people, even those who've never met you
All of their lives, they'll never forget you.Don't you see what has happened?
Don't you see what you've done?You've brought them together,
together as one.With that the man in the stovepipe hat said
"Take my hand," and from there he ledFive thousand plus heroes, Newcomers to heaven
On this day, two thousand one, nine eleven.
