Recently I have exchanged some thoughts relative to this bumper sticker with several young “scholars”. They seem to be offended by what they perceive as its “literal” meaning.
The consensus of their thought seems to be - No actual military invasion of the continental USA by foreign speaking (German, Japanese) armies = no real threat to the sovereignty of our nation. They never threatened our native soil – no big deal. That what our brave forces did “over there” or “out there” had nothing to do with keeping the axis powers off our soil.
Somehow, in their literal interpretation, I think they absolutely miss the point.
I am reminded of this beautiful poem from WWI.
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.— Lt.-Col. John McCrae
We owe much to the thousands that sleep on foreign soil.
1 Comment
December 10, 2008 at 5:00 pm
I was wondering, sir, if you might email me so I can converse with you in a more private setting?