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."
Ramadan is considered the holiest month of the year for
Muslims. About 1.6 billion Muslims worldwide observe the holiday in some
form. Muslims use Ramadan as an opportunity to self-reflect and become
more spiritual. Muslims will fast from dawn until sunset and are not
allowed to eat or drink anything, including water, during daylight
hours….Ramadan takes place on the ninth month of the Islamic calendar,
which is based on a 12-month lunar year of approximately 354 days. This
year, Ramadan begins the evening of March 22nd and ends the evening of
April 20th.
Although the article claims to present “everything you need to know
about Islam’s holiest month,” it apparently forgot to mention that one
aspect of especial importance to non-Muslims: Ramadan is a time for
jihad against non-Muslims—“infidels”;
Ramadan is when some of Islam’s most violent conquests took place; and
Ramadan is when modern-day Muslims are supposed to reminisce over and
seek to emulate these conquests.
Indeed, every single Ramadan features
an assortment of Islamic authorities, personages, and/or institutes
reminding Muslims to take pride in and celebrate various historic
battles between Muslims and non-Muslims (as in this hour long televised special). Among other things, such victories are meant to demonstrate the power, and thus truth, of Islam.
This alone should underscore Islam’s innate militancy in comparison to other religions. It further suggests that Islam is a worldly
religion, one that takes pride and finds validation in something as
corporeal and temporal as victory in warfare (with all the attendant
collection of booty and slaves that entails).
