Robert Kennedy:
“Our brave young men are
dying in the swamps of Southeast Asia.
Which of them might have
[killed someone who might have]
written a poem?
Which of them might have [killed
someone who might have] cured
cancer? Which of them might have
[killed someone who might have] played in
a World Series or given us the gift of
laughter from the stage or
helped build a bridge or
a university? Which of them would have taught
[someone to kill someone who might have taught]
a child to read?
It is our responsibility to let these men live...
It is indecent if they die
[killing]
because of the empty
vanity of their country.”
3 komento:
I find this stunning and would like very much to know what occasioned it at this very moment. Will you say?
Took me a while to answer you because I found that many things brought this poem out.
—The air strikes (ongoing) against Gaza strip.
—Being myself a Southeast Asian.
—A senator of ours (justly) accused by the daughter of Kennedy of blatant plagiarism.
—The limits of Kennedy's rhetoric: it won't necessarily stop US incursion on foreign soil. Through geopolitical, cultural, and technological means, one state can dominate another without sending a single "boy" overseas.
Thank you for asking, Susan. Be early for KWH!
Dennis: Wow, that's quite a list! No wonder the poem was so stunning. Your last comment, about the limits of Kennedy's rhetoric, is particularly powerful.
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