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Open Poetry #42
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For Better or For Worse, This Is My Country
| Open Poetry #42 |
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For Better or For Worse, This Is My Country |
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Toerag Member Ascendant
since 1999-07-29
Posts 5622Ala bam a |
As Balladeer, so eloquently said: "Our Lady Cried"..our Country bled, Innocent people in buildings and planes, Heartache and anguish, suffering and pain. United we stand, in God we trust Not Falwell or Robertson, they only disgust! Osama Bin Laden, Saddam Hussien, No conscience-no God, criminally insane. The red for "His" blood-white stripes washed us clean The stars all together, like the world's never seen, If I were granted one wish, I'd surrender my wealth, If I could be point man, in that squadron of Stealths. I've experienced conflict, death-honor-war But my country fought there, not on my shores May God bless the victims, their families and friends, The volunteers too, most honorable of men. ___________________________________________ It's easy to bash our country's leader From our lounge chair at home where life's so much sweeter, Should we have just sat back for another attack From Al-Qaeda-Afganistan-Iran or Iraq? Perhaps shrug our shoulders, shake heads in disgust Or treat this like cancer-I think it's a MUST! |
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| © Copyright 2008 Toerag - All Rights Reserved | |||
Marge Tindal 
since 1999-11-06
Posts 42384Florida's Foreverly Shores |
OhSweetToeMan~ I SO honorably agree with you~ I highly commend those in the lead, who must protect us and keep us free~ 'I've experienced conflict, death-honor-war But my country fought there, not on my shores May God bless the victims, their families and friends, The volunteers too, most honorable of men.' You are something else ... and I like it~  *Huglets*  ~*Marge*~ ~*The sound of a kiss is not as strong as that of a cannon, but it's echo endures much longer*~ |
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Earth Angel Member Empyrean
since 2002-08-27
Posts 40215Realms of Light |
So I take it that you are a Democrat! ~ lol Sorry, I couldn't help myself. Powerful words and your opinions are very well stated! Great write, Sir Toe. I can appreciate your stand on all ten of your pedal digits. "May God bless the victims, their families and friends, The volunteers too, most honorable of men.'" ~ AMEN Love, Harmony, & World Peace  Linda |
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amusemi Senior Member
since 2001-12-08
Posts 1262A State of Disarray |
Very well done. This expresses how so many in our country feel right now. And yes, God bless the victims. |
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TomMark Member Elite
since 2007-07-27
Posts 2133LA,CA |
very good poem. For the war link, you forget North Korea and France. The heroism of soldier and all the sacrificed family and civilian death is one thing, Government policy is another. Those two can not be mixed. |
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Oklahoma Rose Senior Member
since 2008-02-28
Posts 1586Oklahoma USA |
Very well written! |
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Artic Wind Member Rara Avis
since 2007-09-16
Posts 8080Realm of Supernatural |
Love it!  ARCTIC WIND |
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2dalimit Member Elite
since 2000-02-08
Posts 2228Mississippi coast |
Thank GOD most of it is not on our shores. Thanks, Melton |
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JamesMichael Member Empyrean
since 1999-11-16
Posts 33336Kapolei, Hawaii, USA |
I believe when Bush went after bin Laden he was 100% right and when he went after Saddam he was 100% wrong...the words are "don't tread on me" not "don't talk bad about me"...that is not to say that we couldn't diplomatically engage our real or imagined enemies...and we should definately expose and dispose of terrorists that wish to destroy us...so when will we be doing that with bin Laden? James |
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skyshine
since 2002-02-07
Posts 3058Beneath the northern stars |
It's so easy for us to judge others without knowing the true circumstances. Unless we run and are elected to the presidency, none of us will have any idea of how truly hard it is to make the right decisions, not just for ourselves and our families, but of the millions of people in our country today. We need to unite and stand behind our president and each other, no matter what. Thanks for the reminder. |
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Toerag Member Ascendant
since 1999-07-29
Posts 5622Ala bam a |
Anyone that doesn't believe Saddam was a threat to us, to Israel and his neighboring countries which alot ARE allies of ours...Allies we NEED that are critical for us strategically has not the slightest idea of what really is going on over there....Not the slightest!!!...And, we are hunting Bin Laden....and, we have destroyed alot of the terror supporting Taliban, their intrastructure is basically now defunct |
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Alison
since 2008-01-27
Posts 9318Lumpy oatmeal makes me crazy! |
Pushes this back to the top because it deserves attention and thought. A |
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Mistletoe Angel
since 2000-12-17
Posts 32816Portland, Oregon |
 I'm in utter agreement with what JamesMichael mentioned earlier in the comments, and I will add the following. Look, most Americans who are critical of the current president's decision-making regarding the war in Iraq and fighting terrorism don't at all believe whatsoever that Saddam Hussein and his faithful were NOT malevolent men who were violent toward many innocent citizens. That is a belief unanimously shared by us as Americans, as well as that, whenever our nation is attacked, we go after those DIRECTLY RESPONSIBLE for attacking us, and though I am naturally a pragmatic pacifist at heart, THAT is precisely why I chose to keep silent when the president decided to go into Afghanistan and combat the Taliban, as indeed they were directly linked to the 9/11 attacks because they have provided refuge for al-Qaeda militants for many years. However, what I ALSO outright resent is how special interest groups and thinktanks, particularly led by neoconservative personalities, are exploiting our young men and women in uniform, using them to push their notions of nation-building, pre-emptive military policy and geopolitical hegemony worldwide, which the current war in Iraq is central to. I believe going into Afghanistan made sense, but going into Iraq was dead wrong from the start and has become a public relations disaster for us worldwide and, beyond the most tragic losses of all; nearly 4,000 of our own young men and women in uniform, the fact that this entire war may cost roughly $2 trillion when all is said and done represents how behemoth of a blunder this invasion has been, which all this money could have went toward beefing up security at our nation's nuclear power plants, or updating our military technology rather than using outdated Cold War-era aircraft, or strengthening our nation's fragile infrastructure, etc. It's in that regard that I believe my immense frustration and disapproval of this administration is justified, as he had at one point a historically unprecedented approval rating towering as high as 92% immediately following September 11th, where people worldwide from the United Kingdom to South Africa to even Iran were out in the streets publicly offering their support and condolences to our wounded nation, who in the most part continued to support us immensely as we went into Afghanistan to combat these militants who attacked us. He had an immaculate opportunity unlike any our nation had seen in decades, and he squandered it with this war in Iraq, as well as passively defending waterboarding, warrantless wiretapping, extraordinary renditions, Guantanamo Bay, etc. which have only made us look bad in terms of world opinion. You're absolutely right: for better OR for worse, this is OUR country, and I am proud to be an American wholeheartedly regardless and nothing will ever change that. And every time I see elected officials rail against or exploit our democratic cornerstones that we hold dear, from the First Amendment to the Fourth Amendment, I see that as running against what our dear country is based on principly and I believe in heart it is my obligatory role as an American to speak out against such injustices like the aforementioned which, ultimately I believe, only undermine our own essential campaign in fighting terrorism worldwide. * Though we may have certain disagreements on whether Iraq was worth fighting or not, I nonetheless commend you for speaking your convictions truthfully, as openly sharing our voices is ultimately the greatest triumph of democracy, and what our great country is all about. God Bless you, my friend, and thank you for sharing!  May love and light always shine upon you! Love, Noah Eaton "If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other" |
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