On November 11 some people paused to remember the War fallen at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month, as the world marked the Armistice of World War I. Once again I was reminded of, and thought about, the horror of War and its extraordinarily painful and devastating costs. Lest We Forget.
Leonard Cohen: The Partisan
Eric Bogle: The Band Played Waltzing Matilda
nb. “Waltzing Matilda” is a very famous Australian folk song and a “Matilda” was the name given to the pack that Australian farm workers carried on their backs. To “Waltz Matilda” meant to carry your pack of belongings through the country side.
Since it’s still Veteran’s Day here (though not quite the 11th hour), I’d like to take a moment not only to commemorate the war-fallen, but to all those who are currently enduring the hellish conditions that wars are directly infliciting upon them, be they soldiers, civilians, refugees, nurses, children, family members, plants, animals, or particles of air and water.
I’d also like to take a moment to remember those who have “fought” peaceful wars and inspired us to think outside the framework of military regimes, and gave their lives doing so…Mahatma Ghandi, Martin Luther King Jr., and so many other sung and unsung heroes and martyrs of our time whose legacies, I hope, live on in our conscious actions for a better world.
Thanks D. That is what I tried to mean by simply writing “fallen” … Perhaps I should have been more explicit.
Clif,
When I said I was taking a moment to commemorate, it was to commemorate…not to target you for your wording, which was fine, actually. I just wanted to commemorate. I think the war-fallen everywhere feel you have sufficiently respected them.
Back on topic. Read Bruce Scates for the real deal.
And note that waltzing matilda is a corruption of “waltzen Mathilde” the German custom of a freshly minted tradesman taking his blankets and seeking work across the country