Rudyard Kipling"
“When 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 soldier”
General Douglas MacArthur"
“We are not retreating. We are advancing in another direction.”
“It is fatal to enter any war without the will to win it.” “Old soldiers never die; they just fade away.
“The soldier, above all other people, prays for peace, for he must suffer and be the deepest wounds and scars of war.”
“May God have mercy upon my enemies, because I won't .” “The object of war is not to die for your country but to make the other bastard die for his.
“Nobody ever defended, there is only attack and attack and attack some more.
“It 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."
‘Citizen’ - a bitter reminder of Merdeka - By Commander (Rtd) S THAYAPARAN Royal Malaysian Navy
Sunday, September 03, 2017
Malaysiakini : “When everything gets answered, it's fake.” ― Sean Penn
COMMENT | Did filmmakers Pete Teo
and Liew Seng Tat make the ultimate downer Merdeka movie? In other
words, did they make a Merdeka film worth watching instead of the pablum
that passes as art in the alternative and mainstream scene here in
Malaysia?
Unlike most other folks, I really did not enjoy the late Yasmin
Ahmad’s oeuvre that defined the mainstream definition of what it means
to be Malaysian and by that, I mean the propaganda of the 1Malaysia and
Bangsa Malaysia kool-aid that mainstream politics assures is what
Malaysia is all about. When we talk about films and themes like these, we are talking about a
specific demographic. We are not talking about the rural communities
who have no idea that the 1Malaysia and Bangsa Malaysia canards exist.
To them, what Malaysia's urban electorate are fighting for is a foreign
country.
Pete Teo may have saidthe
six-minute film is about hope but you do not really get much hope in
this short mediation about futility. My reading of the film is a little
different. The discussion between the ‘politician’ and the ‘citizen’ in
this short film is not really about how politics have failed the people
but rather how people have failed politics.
When the politician makes himself at home by making a cup of coffee,
he is bewildered that the citizen asks why he would do such a thing. The
answer is simple. For decades, a majority of Malaysian citizens voted
in corrupt officials without ever thinking of how their votes were
destroying the country. In other words, we made these politicians feel
at home. We made them feel that their corruption, racism, venality, but
most importantly their arrogance, were welcomed in our homes. Read it alll here...............
