On TV, I saw them kneeling
__Before their golden cow;
Mere worshippers of a flimsy feeling
__Desecrating a vow.
They’ve never knelt in battle’s fire
__Nor bowed in a foxhole;
Yet, proudly they display their ire
__Spitting on the flagpole.
True, you can’t offend an object,
__But symbols get besmirched:
Men’s noble sacrifices wrecked;
__While sideline vultures perch.
An anthem written by war-light
__Can’t merit their respect
While soldiers think “Is freedom trite?”
__“Is this who we protect?”
Sean Galli studies history at Baylor University.
Short but powerful rebuke to those whose minds have been blinded by an irrational hatred toward the land of their birth. There seems to me to be something “against nature” for a person to be so utterly devoid of patriotic feeling. I can understand how painful it must be for members of the armed forces to sacrifice so much to defend the country, only to find that their efforts are help in contempt by people who have been brainwashed by cultural Marxists into despising the principles on which the U.S. was founded and who see the flag as nothing but a symbol of racism and injustice. So sad!
Amen.
Stated so simply, but the emotional impact is great. Excellent
The “kneeling” is nothing but a risk-free virtue signalling, typical of the American left. These guys are being paid a king’s ransom in salary, and they are the object of mass adulation. The mere fact of their kneeling makes them cultural heroes to the left-liberal establishment.
They haven’t put a single thing in their lives in danger with this pathetic gesture. All they’ve done is add another trendy fashion-statement to their accessories.
Very true and nicely written
Joseph Salemi is right; this poem is a fine comment on the triteness of virtue-signalling gestures. It angers me when protesters like this are hailed as “brave”. They know full well that they risk nothing – unlike the soldiers in your poem.