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Victory! Triumph! Glory!

The Song Of The Pacifist
by Robert Service

What do they matter, our headlong hates, when we take the toll of our Dead?
Think ye our glory and gain will pay for the torrent of blood we have shed?
By the cheers of our Victory will the heart of the mother be comforted?

If by the Victory all we mean is a broken and brooding foe;
Is the pomp and power of a glitt’ring hour, and a truce for an age or so:
By the clay-cold hand on the broken blade we have smitten a bootless blow!

If by the Triumph we only prove that the sword we sheathe is bright;
That justice and truth and love endure; that freedom’s throned on the height;
That the feebler folks shall be unafraid; that Might shall never be Right;

If this be all: by the blood-drenched plains, by the havoc of fire and fear,
By the rending roar of the War of Wars, by the Dead so doubly dear. . . .
Then our Victory is a vast defeat, and it mocks us as we cheer.

Victory! there can be but one, hallowed in every land:
When by the graves of our common dead we who were foemen stand;
And in the hush of our common grief hand is tendered to hand.

Triumph! Yes, when out of the dust in the splendour of their release
The spirits of those who fell go forth and they hallow our hearts to peace,
And, brothers in pain, with world-wide voice, we clamour that War shall cease.

Glory! Ay, when from blackest loss shall be born most radiant gain;
When over the gory fields shall rise a star that never shall wane:
Then, and then only, our Dead shall know that they have not fall’n in vain.

When our children’s children shall talk of War as a madness that may not be;
When we thank our God for our grief to-day, and blazon from sea to sea
In the name of the Dead the banner of Peace . . . that will be Victory.

The Heat is On

1 Reply

"Very rarely do they speak out against other members," said Rev. Pat Mahoney of the Christian Defense Coalition, who wants Specter voted down. Republican leaders "are putting their finger in the air and seeing which way the wind is blowing. This drama still has to be played out."

Let’s keep the pressure on, folks. Nothing good happens in government if constituants don’t light fires under a few representative butts.

Seeing Purple

8 Replies

The fella at Electoral Vote Predictor has read my mind and produced exactly
the kind of election results map I wanted. It gives a better indication of just
how deeply divided this country is than the simple red and blue maps.

Nobody seems to care about how much healing America needs. The Republicans are patting
each other’s backs and claiming
a mandate from the people and the liberals are t urning
their noses up at the “unwashed masses” who elected Bush and/or fleeing
to Canada. Meanwhile, Christendom still can’t agree on what
takes moral priority in politics.

On a side note, the
election cost American tax payers way too much. There are so many programs
that could have benefited from that money. What a waste.

Ex-Specter-ant

4 Replies

We weren’t able to cough Specter up and out of his Senate seat. Maybe we can keep
him becoming chairman of the Judiciary Committee. Pete Vere at Catholic
Light shares this desire. It’s good to see other Casey Democrats in St. Blog’s.
I was beginning to feel crowded out by the rapid Bush supporters.

Anyhow, we need to be calling,
writing, and petitioning our senators, urging them to select a better man. We
don’t have much time. Also, regardless of outcome, we need to express dissatisfaction
with Bush and Santorum. They both backed Specter and told voters he’d play ball.

Catholics and Politics: Beyond the Election