My New York Times email newsletter this morning included a link to Nicholas Kristoff column, entitled Poems of Blood and Anger. The one that spoke mostly powerfully to me was by a young man named Zach Chotzen-Freund of Santa Barbara, California. In this excerpt, he examines the esprit that leads 17-year-olds to sign up for war. Fittingly, he's 17.
Off now, children! Off to war! Kill in your country's name!
For murder on behalf of kin is what allows our boys to win
And rest someday in cherished lore. So off now, off to war!
Off now, children! Off to war! Make your fathers swell with pride!
For though you're young, they love to hear that you're a splendid bombardier
And dodge death like a matador.
So off now, off to war!
Off now, children! Off to war! Bring smiles to your mothers' eyes!
They hate to lose you, sure that's true, but if flags of red, white and blue
Are at your funeral, souls will soar.
So off now, off to war!
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