Recent terror attacks in Turkey and Belgium remind me how fragile life really is in times of trouble. I hope that we who are spoiled and safe in our privilege never forget that people are dying every day in this war that humanity has declared upon itself. Take a moment. Reflect on the losses and then be grateful for the security that you enjoy. ( Read more... )

"Perspective" by Kathleen Millay ( Read more... )

Let me preface this by saying two things. (1) I am not Syrian, I have never been to Syria, and I am depending on news reports to tell me what is happening on the ground there. (2) I hate war with a passion and fervently wish that peace really could prevail.

( However )

I'm not ashamed to admit that I read this poem for the first time today. I'm a little ashamed to admit that I read it in the comments post on www.punditkitchen.com. It should be read, and taken to heart.

( Tommy by Rudyard Kipling )

Apostrophe to Man ( Read more... )

In Flanders fields the poppies blow ( Read more... )

...I bring you a trenchant observation from the years before the outbreak of WWI. Makes me wonder if history is repeating itself...after all, we're only 6 years from the centennial of the "War to End All Wars"...

"If there is ever another war in Europe, it will come out of some damned foolish thing in the Balkans." - Otto von Bismarck ( Read more... )

I know that it is unfashionable to mourn losses that were never mine in the personal sense, and it is nonsensical to some for me to weep for soldiers lost in muck so deep their bodies are found only in bone fragments that work their way through the topsoil when it rains in France. Cognitively, I know that I can never truly understand the enormity ( Read more... )

Lest we forget the true meaning of this day, or the war it actually relates to: The Green Fields of France by Eric BogleI know this day is meant to honor all veterans of foreign wars, not just those who fought and died in the Great War. It galls me to no end, however, that the men whose sacrifice spawned the Armistice of 11/11/18 and the horors ( Read more... )