quote:Originally posted by tdreader:
(But your flag decal won't get you into Heaven anymore) Excelman, just when I begin to feel I am wasting time reading cut and paste, you drop in a John Prine gem. Thanks.
this was published Friday morning, shortly after minight.
http://www.spectator.org/dsp_article.asp?art_id=10932
"The absence of patriotic poetry that is both popular and poetically acccomplished in the present great clash of civilizations and cultures is odd. America has a population of 300 million people. If one in a million is a real poet of ability -- which I think is a realistic guess -- surely there should be some patriotic, positive, affirmative ones among those 300 who can create words that sing and inspire."
I suppose that the lack of poetry celebrating Modern Patriotism is the reason for the lack of poetry decrying the waste of war. Without one voice, the opposing voice has no hook.
The author of this piece puts Kipling in the catagory of great authors of Patriotic poetry. His best, in my opinion, is Entitled "The Last of the Light Brigade." It is a masterpiece of description of the fate of the RETURNING SOLDIER. Not the warrior, it is certainly patriotic, but it takes the Government and the people of Great Britain to task for their apathy about the fate of the Veterans.
Again, a personal observation. There is little or no patriotic poetry because people of decent sensibility recognize the great clash of cultures as a phoney lable. This war in Iraq does not inspire thrilling poetry, because there is NO HONOR IN IT.