11 November 2009

Veterans Day

Maybe if our society understood that going to war is a shared responsibility among the nation, we wouldn't be treated to such nonsense in our Op-Ed pages on Veterans Day. Today's turd is from David Ignatius, who, having an apparent change of heart from his Harvard days, once referred to the "needle-popping" Army in an article about why Mao would make a decent President:

Through all its own difficulties, the military has kept its stride. That sense of balance comes partly from the fact that soldiers are anchored to the American bedrock. This includes the stereotypical small towns in the South and Midwest that have military service in their DNA. But it also counts plenty of hardworking, upwardly mobile Hispanic and African-American families in urban America who produce some of the best soldiers I know.
Great. All the military folks David Ignatius "knows" are probably the people he called the cops on when they drove by his country club. As long as the nation's elite continue to see military service as something only poor, desperate rubes would take part in, we're going to have a pretty fucked up republic.

So this Motorhead tune is for all the vets out there, because it seems appropriate. I don't really think it's anti-war or anti-religion necessarily, but it's kind of a harsh criticism about the leaders of the world making everyone else doing all the sacrificing:



Nobody gives a damn about anybody else,
Think everyone should feel the way they feel themselves,

Rich men think that happiness is a million dollar bills,

So how come half of them O.D. on sleeping pills,

Eye for eye, tooth for tooth, you all know what I mean,

What's the use of a cry for help, if no one hears the screams,

No one hears the scream,


No voices in the sky, confusion blinds the eye,

Can't take it with you when you die,

No voices in the sky,


The ones who dedicate the flags to make you brave,

They also consecrate the headstone on your grave,

Ritual remembrance when no one knows your name,

Don't help a single widow learn to fight the pain,


Politicians kissing babies for good luck,

T.V. preachers sell salvation for a buck,

You don't need no golden cross, to tell you wrong from right,

The world's worst murderers were those who saw the light.

14 comments:

The Mendon Foodie said...

Thank you for your service to our country.

Bob G. said...

LT:
Thanks...for freedom and liberty for us ALL.

Carry on.

Lela said...

No one says it better than Lt Nixon....just wanted to thank you for your service on this Vet's Day.

Anonymous said...

I also wanted to come by and say thank you for your service to our country and for the voice you add to the milblog community. I'm sure the comment well be met with something classic Lt. Nixon self deprecation, but I wanted to say it anyway. :)

Wek said...

This post may be the most appropriate use of a Motorhead song ever. Saw them live in September. Lemmy made it clear he hates politicians. All of them. Up to and including city dog catchers.

JuniorAG said...

"If the American people knew what happened in Congress every day, half of us would be hung from the light poles on Pennsylvania Avenue and the other half would be in prison."
--Sen. Robert Byrd
MOTORHEAD!!! YEAH, the "Amphetamine Driven Fists Of Fury!", they were also pretty much the house band for the European Hells Angels. Lemmy seems to be very Libertarian in his view of politiscum, love that moled bastid!

Bag Blog said...

Some people just don't get it when it comes to serving in the military. But thankfully there are some great men and women who do get it. Thanks for serving. Happy Veteran's Day.

Nixon said...

You can never go wrong by embedding a Motorhead song in a blog post.

subrookie said...

yep, a day late, but happy vets day Nixon. I'll buy you another beer your next swing through the NW.

Anonymous said...

Are you any relation to Richard M. Nixon?

Nixon said...

Anon,

No relation to the late Richard Nixon, but you're not the first to ask.

Subrookie,

As always, you rock.

Mud Puppy said...

That is fucking beautiful. Came back from the Suck and all I ever heard was the empty thank you's and the bullshit of how great a job I did for this country.

Nixon said...

Great to see you back bloggin Mud Puppy.

Local Internet Marketing said...

If the American people knew what happened in Congress every day, half of us would be hung from the light poles on Pennsylvania Avenue and the other half would be in prison.