President Roosevelt said this on Armistice Day, 1941:
We know that it was, in literal truth, to make the world safe for democracy that we took up arms in 1917. It was, in simple truth and in literal fact, to make the world habitable for decent and self-respecting men that those whom we now remember gave their lives. They died to prevent then the very thing that now, a quarter century later, has happened from one end of Europe to the other.
Now that it has happened we know in full the reason why they died.
We know also what obligation and duty their sacrifice imposes upon us. They did not die to make the world safe for decency and self-respect for five years or ten or maybe twenty. They died to make it safe. And if, by some fault of ours who lived beyond the war, its safety has again been threatened then the obligation and the duty are ours. It is in our charge now, as it was America's charge after the Civil War, to see to it "that these dead shall not have died in vain." Sergeant York spoke thus of the cynics and doubters: "The thing they forget is that liberty and freedom and democracy are so very precious that you do not fight to win them once and stop. Liberty and freedom and democracy are prizes awarded only to those peoples who fight to win them and then keep fighting eternally to hold them."
The people of America agree with that. They believe that liberty is worth fighting for. And if they are obliged to fight they will fight eternally to hold it.
This duty we owe, not to ourselves alone, but to the many dead who died to gain our freedom for us-to make the world a place where freedom can live and grow into the ages.
The thing they forget is that liberty and freedom and democracy are so very precious that you do not fight to win them once and stop. Yes indeed, and the fight's clearly not over today, whether at home or abroad.
God bless,
LSP
13 comments:
A powerful message. Thank you.
Thanks, WSF, I thought it was too.
I wrote this comment on another blog some years back. I came to the same conclusion as the good sergeant, but from a slightly different angle. About six months after the experience I describe, I got my sergeant stripes.
"I was stationed in (formerly) West Germany during the mid-70's. During a weeklong R&R, my buddy and I decided to take a tour of Dachau. For me, it proved to be an epiphany, although not for the reasons anyone might think at first.
My father was a B17 pilot during WWII and flew 35 combat missions over Europe. Among other things, this sparked my keen interest in WWII history, so I had read about the concentration camps long before I went on the tour.
It's times like this that I wish I had a better command of the English language. The best I can come up with to describe the tour is that it brings on a cascade of emotions, some seemingly contradictory.
The first thing we saw was this--
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dachau_concentration_camp#mediaviewer/File:Arbeit_Macht_Frei_Dachau_8235.jpg
--which translates to "Work will make (you) free." It is both grotesque propaganda and macabre prophecy.
It was a bright, sunny day that seemed somehow inappropriate for the occasion and at the same time a reminder that life moves on.
Everyone on the tour speaks in quiet voices, walks softly, as if at a funeral, which is as it should be.
One side of your brain digests all the numbers and photos and other input, while the other side just cannot wrap itself around the totality of horror that went on there for years. At the same time, I felt a sense of pride that I wore the uniform of one of the armies that put an end to it.
When I was there, the ovens were still in place, doors open, with ash still inside. There was a simple rope barrier about five feet in front. A metallic glint caught my eye in one of the ovens. As I leaned over the rope for a closer look, I saw that it was an expended camera flash cube. Someone had tossed their trash into an oven at Dachau. Thus came my epiphany.
The battle against evil is not over, will never be over. Evil will always be aided by apathy and willful ignorance, and fueled mostly by envy and greed. I agree with the old saw that there is nothing new under the sun. However, there are new generations who need to be taught their history.
Given the state of world affairs today, I am reminded of the book (and movie) title "Something Wicked This Way Comes"."
Well said, and oh so true.
Lest we forget
Always remain ready.
RHT447: I, too, got my sergeant stripes in the mid-70's while serving in West Germany (Augsburg Sheridan Kaserne). My wife and I visited Dachau perhaps 20 years later, and the ovens were gone, only the foundations remained. The place was one of reverence. Nobody spoke, it was silent. And there were hundreds of tourists there. Absolute quiet.
A moving experience. "Arbeit Macht Frei" still hangs over the entrance.
Fredd: Small world. I was at Pinder Barracks outside Nuremberg. 156th Maint. Co., Small Arms Repair Shop, '74 to '77.
"The battle against evil is not over, will never be over. Evil will always be aided by apathy and willful ignorance, and fueled mostly by envy and greed. I agree with the old saw that there is nothing new under the sun. However, there are new generations who need to be taught their history.
Given the state of world affairs today, I am reminded of the book (and movie) title 'Something Wicked This Way Comes'."
RHT, well said. I was struck by that.
Sure is,NFO.
And right to the point, LL, given our culture's collective amnesia.
Jim, never a truer word.
Fredd and RHT, I've never been but feel I should.
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