Category: warriors

beating the drummers. Put another context, this quote: “Hell hath no fury like a non-combatant”– C. Montague

Special Report

Posted on Posted in wargasm, warriors

A note to the marines, the special forces, even our weekend force. You wear a uniform, carry a gun and claim a privilege. You type, cook, change tires, and kill so that you can claim honor. You do these things so that you have money, maybe college. You do the things you do out of duty, by order. You do this to defend, or do you do this from some other impulse?

You can not defend us while you condemn us. If you are tempted, just tempted to hate us, then you are not, and never were, fighting in our name.

If you fight us, you can not fight for us.

We are the citizens, you are the soldiers. It is you that serve us. So, as movie heros say, “just shut up or say thank you, but take your post. The enemy is that way, not this.”

the Great Black Hole

Posted on Posted in A Symbol Life, K Street Y, warriors

this morning some knowledge changed. In some way back to a begining, while some how accelerating forward. All on an impulse. an impulse that was a long time and effort coming. This is a big difference between our past and present, our knowledge and our fear. the Large Hadron Collider could not have happened in present america.

I wonder if it would ever happen in a land of Bush’s nightmares, or Palin’s dreams. The world of the great Saddleback church. The scientists would not have been or done. That is a black hole, the hollow empty sound of soul. So the days that the United States ruled physics are over. As the United States provides warriors the other world provides wonder.

A Fellow Named Joe

Posted on Posted in fitz stop, warriors

I have respect for Joe, this GI from long ago. I know, I know. But it wont continue so. Joe was a pilot for the Marines, as I was soldier. He flew over head, my head. Our enemies head. Those of us on the ground always looked up. We looked up as we ducked, jumped to the ground. The fighter jets were gone sometimes before you heard them. Not like the bombers. You knew they were coming minutes before they arrived. Their sound pounding you into the ground. the ground that then bounced, jerked you up and down, like a coin on a barracks bed. But that is not what this story is about. Not about those memories, instead about a question. One I hesitate to ask, in deference to Joe. Joe I do not know, or so this story goes.

One day Joe’s jet was shot down. Flopped to the ground. Actually into a lake. Flopped like a dying fish. Like a deadly great white shark into the shallow water. Fallen, like an angel of war, rage, anger. But Joe did not die. He was saved. He says captured. I do too.

War is fought on orders. It is not orderly, but it is by order, by command. Many of these are standing orders. The things you are supposed to know, follow, do, when no commander is around. Many of these are common sense, so are commonly disregarded. Our defense would be the “traffic light” defense, “but no one does.” We are all law breakers, we law abiding citizens of cane. Solders in war are ordered not to surrender, but if they are captured they are to fight on. Joe couldn’t do much fighting. He was a pilot without wings, with broken arms, legs. You can guess what a plane crash does.

But now comes the odd thing. Odd to me, perhaps since I was enlisted, not an officer. Enlisted, even though I think of my “enlistment” as imprisonment for protesting the war. I was told that I was supposed to fight or escape. The reason for the escape was so that I could return to fight. I could return with information. Stuff such as, how well fed. What type of weapons. How dug in. Where were the guns. How fit were the soldiers. How many prisoners did they have. That type of thing. Stuff that might be of use in fighting an enemy. Stuff that the enemy would not want you to leave knowing. Now comes the odd thing. Joe was told he could go. Go, why no, said Joe. I will not go. I will stay. Stay this day. Stay that day. I will not go, no way. I intend to stay, said Joe.

I do not know why, but to this day still, Joe stays. Joe stays. We salute him still. Maybe he stayed so he could not kill. If so I salute Joe now.