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."
Teresa and Teo in denial over vernacular schools By Commander S THAYAPARAN (Retired) Royal Malaysian Navy
Thursday, March 07, 2024
Malaysiakini : āPerhaps home is not a place but simply an irrevocable condition.ā
- James Baldwin, in his 1956 novel Giovanniās Room
COMMENT | For the record, while I am not a supporter of vernacular schools, I have always understood the need for them.
Also,
I have never understood the need for religious schools, religious
classes and any other forms of formalised cultural outlets, believing
that this is the sole province of parents and not the state or any kind
of formal or informal groupings.
Education beyond what is taught in the syllabus is also about internalisation.
What are the ideas that kids are internalising in public schools when our history books are compromised, the civil service
racialised, politicians routinely demonise other ethnic groups,
religious operatives demonise other religions and quota systems as well
as the non-existent social contract determine educational advancement in
rakyat-funded education establishments?
Meanwhile,
what are students in vernacular schools internalising, when they
understand from a young age that by virtue of their minority status,
everything in this country funded by their parentsā tax-paying ringgit
is not open to them because of the non-existent social contract, their
cultural identity is their refuge and that the majority community envies
their economic influence?
For example, what do you think the
parents, teachers and kids of a Tamil vernacular school think about how
the government is handling cases of unilateral conversion? Do you think
teaching exists in a vacuum? Do you think kids donāt mimic the behaviour
of their teachers and parents?
