Face the Flag
This is from an album of speeches/poems recorded by John Wayne many years ago...while nothing can match hearing the Duke read these words, you can still get a sense of what this piece means to me by reading them here:
Face the flag, son! Read what's written there,
The history, the progress and the heritage we share.
Our flag reflects the past, son, but stands for so much more,
And in this Age of Aquarius, it still flies in the fore.
It leads the forward movement, shared by all mankind,
To learn...To love...To live with peace of mind;
To learn the mysteries of space, as well as those of earth;
To love each man for what he is, regardless of his birth;
To live without fear of reprisal for belief;
To ease the tensions of a world that cries out for relief.
Face the flag, son! Take a good long look.
What you're seeing now can't be found in a history book.
It's the present and future, son. It's being written now,
And you're the one to write it, but the flag can show you how.
Do you know what it stands for? What its makers meant?
To think...To speak...The privilege of dissent;
To think our leaders might be wrong...to stand and tell them so.
These are the things that other men under other flags will never know.
But responsibility...that's the cross that free men must bear,
And if you don't accept that, the freedom isn't there.
Face the flag, son. and face reality.
Our strengths and our freedom, are based in unity,
The flag is but a symbol, son, of the world's greatest nation,
And as long as it keeps flying, there's cause for celebration.
So do what you've got to do, but always keep in mind
A lot of people believe in peace...but there are the other kind.
If we want to keep these freedoms, we may have to fight again.
God forbid, but if we do, let's always fight to win,
For the fate of a loser, is futile and it's bare...
No love...No peace...just misery and despair.
Face the flag, son...and THANK GOD IT'S STILL THERE.
JM
"Just a thin line drawn between, being a genius or insane" -- Iron Maiden
Quote: ...To live without fear of reprisal for belief;
To ease the tensions of a world that cries out for relief.
...But responsibility...that's the cross that free men must bear,
And if you don't accept that, the freedom isn't there.
....A lot of people believe in peace...but there are the other kind.
If we want to keep these freedoms, we may have to fight again.
God forbid, but if we do, let's always fight to win,
For the fate of a loser, is futile and it's bare...
No love...No peace...just misery and despair...
So true, even after all these years.
"Those that make war have chosen their own destruction." - President George W. Bush
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