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."
Malaysiakini : COMMENT | The recent ban on the two
words, “Merry Christmas”, has nothing to do with religion or religious
conservatism, but it has everything to do with control. Otherwise, why would the greeting, “Merry Christmas” alarm conservative Malays?
Christmas
is a time for sharing, a reason to be jolly, for showing forgiveness,
compassion, and giving presents, but for some Malays, Christmas is a
time for banning things.
Usually around Christmas, irrational fear
strikes many conservative Muslims. If ordinary Malays are allowed to
share Christmas greetings with fellow Malaysians, what other liberties
will they demand tomorrow?
The authorities need to be strict with bans on greetings, or open
houses to discourage interaction of the races, and anything that
resembles fun, simply to fulfil their desire to control peoples’
behaviour.
A halal-certified bakery recently announced that it was
not allowed to display cakes with “Merry Christmas” on the icing. The
public outrage prompted the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department
(Religious Affairs) Mohd Na’im Mokhtar to deny the ban on the cake
icing.
The Malaysian Islamic Development Department (Jakim) then reversed
the 2020 directive banning the greeting on Christmas cakes despite the
cake shop trying to justify its “No Merry Christmas” message to
customers, insisting that it was merely following orders.
Who do you believe amid the allegations, counter-allegations, and denials?
