Dear readers: Following the news today, I was struck by all the war news. Our armies, their armies, two other armies savagely having at each other somewhere under the sun. Actually, a lot of somewheres under the sun. So, here we are, humanity, soiling this brand new millennium right off the bat by slaughtering one another. So much for a new era of peace, understanding and brotherhood. Wars are supposedly fought for different reasons, or at least, that’s what we tell ourselves, when basically it comes down to 2 motives, greed and vengeance. Greed for money, power, land, resources or ideas, and in turn, vengeance for having been attacked over money, power, land, resources and ideas. No one seems willing to break this cycle.
In order to motivate armies to participate in this deadly old man’s game, the young soldiers who actually do the killing and the dying must be convinced that the enemy is their personal enemy instead of a group of human beings very much like themselves who happen to be standing in the way of the old mens’ lust for gold and power. Usually this is attained by telling them that God is for us and against them. Which brings us to a song I wrote about this curious phenomenon. It struck me that no army in history has ever marched into war without believing that God is on their side, even though every religion sort of frowns on killing our fellow human beings. It’s a military march song, the kind you hear sung by hundreds of marching soldiers at the end of a movie glorifying war, with the lyrics in subtitles and a bouncing ball dancing across the words so you can sing along with the purposeful young men waving their flags. Having not much else to say about this, here’s the lyrics. Follow the bouncing ball:
GOD IS ON OUR SIDE
YOUNG, SO PROUD AND GRAVE
SO VERY CLEAR OF HEART AND MIND
STRONG, AND TALL AND BRAVE
THEY LEAVE THEIR MOTHERS’ LOVE BEHIND
TRUE, THEY MARCH TO WAR
THEY MUST DEFEND THEIR NATION’S PRIDE
LIKE THOSE, WHO MARCHED BEFORE
THEY KNOW THAT GOD IS ON OUR SIDE
OLD AND VERY WISE
A GENERAL STANDS ON SOLDIERS TRUST
PAIN SHOWS IN HIS EYES
HE TELLS HIS MEN OUR CAUSE IS JUST
FIGHT, AND GLORY’S YOURS
AND IF YOU FALL, YOU FALL WITH PRIDE
LIKE THOSE, WHO FELL BEFORE
WE KNOW THAT GOD IS ON OUR SIDE
SO MAMA, DON’T YOU CRY
YOU KNOW THAT GOD IS ON OUR SIDE
AND IF I AM TO DIE
THE LORD WILL TAKE ME TO HIS SIDE
SO MAMA DON’T YOU CRY
LOVE AND TEARS OF RAGE
FILL UP A MOTHER’S HEART AND EYES
WHY MUST WARS WE WAGE
WHY MUST A MOTHER ALWAYS CRY
WHY THE GRAND PARADES
THE COLORED FLAGS, THE FOOLISH PRIDE
IN ALL THE DAYS WE PRAYED
WE PRAY THAT GOD IS ON OUR SIDE
SO MAMA, DON’T YOU CRY
YOU KNOW THAT GOD IS ON OUR SIDE
AND IF I AM TO DIE
THE LORD WILL TAKE ME TO HIS SIDE
SO MAMA DON’T YOU CRY
BOLD, THE CANNON BLOWS
A THOUSAND MILES FROM HOME SWEET HOME
RED, THE RIVER FLOWS
A THOUSAND BOYS DIE ALL ALONE
GONE, A THOUSAND DREAMS
A THOUSAND OCEANS DEEP AND WIDE
AND IN THEIR FINAL SCREAMS
THEY PRAY THAT GOD IS ON OUR SIDE
SO MAMA, DON’T YOU CRY
YOU KNOW THAT GOD IS ON OUR SIDE…
Thank you for your time. Wage peace with a vengeance. – Bob Crespo