Rudyard Kipling"
āWhen you're left wounded on Afganistan's plains and
the women come out to cut up what remains, Just roll to your rifle
and blow out your brains,
And go to your God like a soldierā
General Douglas MacArthur"
āWe are not retreating. We are advancing in another direction.ā
āIt is fatal to enter any war without the will to win it.ā āOld soldiers never die; they just fade away.
āThe soldier, above all other people, prays for peace, for he must suffer and be the deepest wounds and scars of war.ā
āMay God have mercy upon my enemies, because I won't .ā āThe object of war is not to die for your country but to make the other bastard die for his.
āNobody ever defended, there is only attack and attack and attack some more.
āIt is foolish and wrong to mourn the men who died. Rather we should thank God that such men lived.
The Soldier stood and faced God
Which must always come to pass
He hoped his shoes were shining
Just as bright as his brass
"Step forward you Soldier,
How shall I deal with you?
Have you always turned the other cheek?
To My Church have you been true?"
"No, Lord, I guess I ain't
Because those of us who carry guns
Can't always be a saint."
I've had to work on Sundays
And at times my talk was tough,
And sometimes I've been violent,
Because the world is awfully rough.
But, I never took a penny
That wasn't mine to keep.
Though I worked a lot of overtime
When the bills got just too steep,
The Soldier squared his shoulders and said
And I never passed a cry for help
Though at times I shook with fear,
And sometimes, God forgive me,
I've wept unmanly tears.
I know I don't deserve a place
Among the people here.
They never wanted me around
Except to calm their fears.
If you've a place for me here,
Lord, It needn't be so grand,
I never expected or had too much,
But if you don't, I'll understand."
There was silence all around the throne
Where the saints had often trod
As the Soldier waited quietly,
For the judgment of his God.
"Step forward now, you Soldier,
You've borne your burden well.
Walk peacefully on Heaven's streets,
You've done your time in Hell."
The rise of political Islam in Turkey: how the West got it wrong
Tuesday, November 04, 2014
Only
western pundits could have nurtured the hope that someone with strong
loyalties to Sharia would also abide by secular law in Turkey. Turkish
opposition MP, Safak Pavey, says that by now they must be amazed at how
wrong they were. Blazing Cat Fur : The
end of the Cold War did not free the world of polarised ideologies.
Once the Berlin Wall fell, we hoped a new world would finally move
beyond the conflict ridden past. Yet, not only did we face continuous conflicts but with the revival of religious traditions,
Godās role in politics was rekindled.
We thought that the time for
belief systems and politics which derive their legitimacy from God was
over. But we were wrong. The current administration of Turkey, which was lauded as an example of a modern Islamic democracy, derives a considerable part of its mandate from the belief that they are carrying out Godās mission of revenge against the godless secular system.
Islamism has hijacked my country, the Middle East and the āArab Springā, not only politically, but culturally as well. Let us take the case of ISIS. It gave the Christians of Rakka three options: convert to
Islam, remain Christian and pay the protection tax of the non-Muslim
believers and submit to strict rules, or be prepared to die. The
protection tax amounts to 14 grams of pure gold per capita. Some of the
rules include prohibitions on making repairs to churches, wearing the
cross or other religious symbols outside church and ringing the church bell.
Turkeyās Islamists have not implemented these restrictive practices
and rules formally because this would still require a major overhaul of
the legal system, and they see ISIS as āuncivilizedā. But in everyday
life social pressure is exercised in more subtle ways and people are
intimidated through quiet repression on the street. Our current situation is explained away by western intellectuals who
had nothing but praise for Erdogan ten years ago, and now claim he has
transformed into a tyrant.
The latest conclusion of these international
commentators who sing the praises of Islamic democracy is that democracy
befits our culture, but that the problem is with Erdoganās personality. It would be a mistake to underestimate Erdogan. Ever since he entered politics at a young age, he aimed to become head of state
because he believed only he could abolish the āinfidel / hereticā
social system; that is how the secular state is perceived by political
Islamists.
