Tuesday, November 11, 2008

It is the Soldier

by Father Dennis Edward O'Brien USMC

It is the Soldier, not the reporter,
Who has given us freedom of the press

It is the soldier, not the poet,
Who has given us freedom of speech

It is the soldier, not the campus organizer,
Who has given us the freedom to demonstrate

It is the soldier, not the lawyer,
Who has given us the right to a fair trial

It is the soldier,
Who salutes the flag,
Who serves under the flag,
Whose coffin is draped by the flag,
Who allows the protesters to burn the flag.

And might I add-

It is the soldier
Who has given us freedom of religion
And the right to vote

Thanks to all the veterans this Veteran's Day!

3 comments:

Sarah and John Root said...

I love this poem! I was thinking of posting it on Nov. 4, but didn't get around to it. I'm glad you did!

Summer and family said...

I really like that poem, I'll have to copy and paste it. Thanks!

Annie said...

Thank you for that sweet poem. So true! I can't believe all the noise prop 8 is making over there! Thanks for the posting of the church's statement. It's amazing how there's really only tolerance of the democratic process and moral opinion as long as it's popular with the media.(and your cookies are sooo cute!)
(Annie Avans)