-Caveat Lector-
Everyone should take a trip to the 'poppy fields' of France and Belgium to
witness the rows upon rows upon rows of grave markers that occupy vast tracts
of land as memorials to those times. At Verdun, for example, is a great big
building, L'Ossuaire de Douaumont, that houses the bones of the unidentified,
presiding over a vast cemetary of fallen WW One combatants. AER
From
http://www.quebecoislibre.org/991106-13.htm
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REMEMBRANCE DAY
FLANDERS FIELDS REVISITED
by Scott Carpenter
Liberty Free Press
In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders Fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die,
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders Fields.
John McCrae 1915
John McCrae died in 1918 as a result of injuries sustained in WWI. I
often wonder what he would have to say if he were here today to witness the
state that this once great nation has fallen into. Would he be oblivious like
most of us are to the decay of our democracy and the rise of the beast called
socialism? Or would he, like many of the vets I have spoken with lately,
complain bitterly about the intrusion of the state into our everyday lives?
Of course any answer to this question would be mere speculation. Or
would it?
Take up our quarrel with the foe
Who was John's foe? The Germans? On a superficial level the answer
may be that simple. But in any other possible universe the answer may have been
different. The fact of the matter is that John's foe, at least physically
speaking, could have been a number of different peoples. It is my assertion
that in fact John's foe was not simply « the German people » but rather the
ideology which they, at that point in history, happened to embody.
What ideology was that? Without going into a very nit picky and deep
analysis of Germany's history up to and including the beginning of the 20th
century one would have to classify it as fascism. John, in my opinion, was
calling on future generations to defend the ideals that he and his brethren
were giving their lives for. He and millions like him, died in the quest to
preserve our freedom.
But in what way have we honoured their sacrifice? Almost a hundred
years ago these brave men gave their lives so that our Common Wealth could
remain in a state of Liberty. But now, as I look around me I fear that we have
failed John and his comrades. I fear that the words of one WWII Veteran I
recently spoke with have come true:
« Scott, how can we believe that we have the right to life when our
own government won't recognize our right to own private property? For God's
sake that's what we were fighting for wasn't it? For our own freedom? Do they
think we are stupid? How can we call ourselves free when our own lives don't
even belong to us in the eyes of our government? I'm nearly dead son. I just
hope your generation has the courage to do something about it. »
« Each generation born into this world seems to understand less and less the
principles of individual liberty which made this continent so strong. »
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If the handing off of this torch were a football game my generation
has fumbled the ball. And perhaps so too has my father's. Each generation born
into this world seems to understand less and less the principles of individual
liberty which made this continent so strong. From Texas to the Yukon Canadians
and Americans have enjoyed lives free from conflict and oppression. But this is
changing and the mechanisms which degrade these principles come at us from
every legal and philosophical direction imaginable. From antitrust laws in the
U.S. to gun control in Canada, all serve one ultimate purpose: to subjugate the
individual to the power of the state. In another generation or two, with the
help of « Grand Fathering Clauses » and « Orders in Council » private ownership
of firearms will be non existent in this country. Lovers of Freedom and Liberty
are effectively being bred out of existence.
I read somewhere once that « If we truly cared about our children and
future generations, instead of demagoging about them, we'd worry more about
saving liberty than saving Social Security. » We have failed John because we
chose to turn to our government to take care us instead of looking after
ourselves. Dependence on the state breeds complacency. Complacency is the
handmaiden of tyranny for it is this quality that allows our leaders and
bureaucrats to expand their powers for « our own good ». In the rush to grab a
piece of the socialist pie we