Rudyard Kipling's words?

Question

Is Rudyard Kipling's 'Tommy' as true today as is was when written over a hundred years ago?

Answer 1

Hey,

I saw the other Rudyard Kipling question yesterday! Do you own homework!!

Answer 2

You could replace Tommy's name with Barack.

You talk o' better food for us, an' schools, an' fires, an' all:

We'll wait for extry rations if you treat us rational.

Don't mess about the cook-room slops, but prove it to our face

The Widow's Uniform is not the soldier-man's disgrace.

For it's Barack this, an' Barack that, an' "Chuck him out, the brute!"

But it's "Saviour of 'is country" when the guns begin to shoot;

An' it's Barack this, an' Barack that, an' anything you please;

An' Barack ain't a bloomin' fool -- you bet that Barack sees!

Answer 3

Yes. Sadly, it's true. It happened a little in the US after Korea. It happened a lot in the US after Vietnam. And, sadly, it's happening again to the guys coming back from the Middle East. Disdain for soldiers isn't a new thing.

Here are a couple more quotes along the same line.

“War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things. The decayed and degraded state of moral and patriotic feeling which thinks nothing is worth war is much worse. The person who has nothing for which he is willing to fight, nothing that is more important than his own personal safety, is a miserable creature and has no chance of being free unless made and kept so by the exertions of better men than himself.” (John Stewart Mill)

“These are the times that try men's souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like h**l, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly: ” (Thomas Paine)

There are some who pretend patriotism by saying they'd fight if the enemy were marching up their streets. This shows their ignorance.

If the enemy is marching up our streets, he's eliminated the Marines, the  Army, the Navy, and the Air Force. He's eliminated the police, the FBI, the CIA. He's eliminated the Fire Department. He's eliminated the Boy Scouts and the Girl Scouts. And this dope thinks he's going to be able to do something?

It takes a couple months to get a raw recruit to the point where he's of minimal danger to himself and his comrades. It takes him a few more months to learn skills in one of the specialties that make him operational. Does this dope think the enemy is going to stop marching for a few months while he learns how to fight?

The enemy will have some of the most sophisticated equipment available. This dope is going to fight them? How? With what? He'll be cut down before he  can pick up the first rock.

"But I have a gun. I know how to hunt." Big deal, dope. You have limited ammunition. And deer and rabbits seldom shoot back. And they never shoot first.

“Pacifists are among the most immoral of men - they make no distinction between aggression and defense. Therefore, pacifism is one of the greatest allies an aggressor can have.” (Patrick Henry)

Today, roughly 10% of the country is or has been in the military. But, let's say half of the country has or is serving in the military. Let's say the military stands at about 30 million. And suppose it came to a point where the enemy was actually marching up our streets. Instead of a few untrained, unequipped, wild-eyed, would be patriots, they would find 70 million trained and ready ex-military who were now fighting for their homes. He's going to have a fight on his hands.

Instead, we send our troops into harms way and ostracize them when they return. We say we support the troops but not the war. What they mean is that they don't like the administration. That's ok. You can hate the administration. Remember your elected officials in Congress, not the President, authorized military action in Iraq. Take it out on them. But, don't blame the soldier. That's what Kipling was saying.

Answer 4

Indeed! Most of his "Barrack Room Ballads" are still relevant today. I once used his poem "The Vampire" as a response to a "Dear John" letter I got from a young lady. The problem with the Barrack Room Ballads is that this age of political correctness has descended upon them and made them anathema. So, they aren't being taught on campus. "Road To Mandalay" is a classic target of the P-C police. "Bloomin' idol made of mud what they called the great god Bud" is considered an insult to Buddhists. "Plucky lot she cared for idols when I kissed her where she stood" is considered to be sexual harrasment.

But, through it all shines the eternal words of Tommy:

"Oh it's Tommy this and Tommy that and chuck him out the brute.

But it's savior of his country when the guns begin to shoot".

It sums up the almost total ignoring of the men and women on active duty on September 10, 2001 by the members of the "Petey Patriot Platoon" who now act as flag-waving cheerleaders.

Answer 5

Absolutely. no one loves the military in peacetime but when there is a war oh boy are they popular and wonderful and great. It has been

ever thus.