My modification to It Is The Soldier

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I decided to make a modification to the poem by Charles M. Province who is in the U.S. Army. This is his original. After his original, I am going to post mine. Tell me what you think guys. https://khouse.org/articles/2004/565/


It is the Soldier, not the minister
Who has given us freedom of religion.

It is the Soldier, not the reporter
Who has given us freedom of the press.

It is the Soldier, not the poet
Who has given us freedom of speech.

It is the Soldier, not the campus organizer
Who has given us freedom to protest.

It is the Soldier, not the lawyer
Who has given us the right to a fair trial.

It is the Soldier, not the politician
Who has given us the right to vote.

It is the Soldier who salutes the flag,
Who serves beneath the flag,
And whose coffin is draped by the flag,
Who allows the protester to burn the flag.

© 1970 2010
Charles M. Province, U.S. Army


Now, here is mine.

It is the Soldier, not the minister
Who has taken away freedom of religion.

It is the Soldier, not the reporter
Who has taken away freedom of the press.

It is the Soldier, not the poet
Who has taken away freedom of speech.

It is the Soldier, not the campus organizer
Who has taken away freedom to protest.

It is the Soldier, not the lawyer
Who has taken away the right to a fair trial.

It is the Soldier, not the politician
Who has taken away the right to vote.

It is the Soldier who salutes the flag,
Who serves beneath the flag,
And whose coffin is draped by the flag,
Who disallows the protester to burn the flag.

© 2015 cubedemon

I like the first one better.

I don't think one should blame a soldier for the government's failings.

and who and what is the soldier exactly?

The government is filled with people including politicans. Without the soldier the government is nothing. The point is no government can take away or give away anything without the soldiers backing. If the soldiers supported taking away any of these things there would be none of these things. Whatever anyone can give, anyone can also take away. The soldiers can oust out the government and install a military dictatorship.

Without the guns of the soldier our government, politicans, etc is nothing.

Conservatives use this as inspiration. It doesn't inspire me. It scares the heck out of me.

Within the first poem, the soldier is the regular infantry grunt.

This is an interesting take on an interesting subject.

However, I don't think the power lies with the soldier, not really.

It's the social contract that we all abide by that restrains the soldier, and it's a slippery thing.

It was respect for the social contract that compelled Sulla (a soldier)to give up power once he'd set Rome right again...

It was lack of respect for the social contract that allowed Julius Caesar (another soldier) to take power and hold it a generation later.

It was the Roman mob's lack of respect for the social contract that made them reject the Senators who killed Caesar and tried to restore the Republic.

One way or another, power always/only comes from the social contract and the people who are part of it--soldiers, citizens, etc..

Sometimes we just lose sight of that.