Lest
we gloss over
its unpopularity, false pretense, lyng leaders and useless sacrifice
Are those 57,000 Mericans who died in Vietnam heroes?
Oh, yes, they are heroes each and every single one
Was their mass blood sacrifice in vain?
That cannot not be possible, though history shows it most certainly
was...for nothing
Were our boys brave?
My god, Yes they absolutely were!
What did their bravery accomplish?
It’s really very difficult to admit, but they did not attain
anything for their country or even protect us
Were our young men like gallant knights earning honor on the glorious
field of battle?
No, they fell bleeding among the bugs, mud and awful heat onto
shit-covered bamboo-spikes
Did they pass away urging their fellows onward in the grand struggle
against the evil enemy?
They died asking why, in a faroff foreign land where enemy and
ungrateful civilians all looked the same
Did our efforts result in a great victory?
Well, we did sign a peace agreement
How did that work out?
We gave up and the communists violated the agreement, killing 80000
South Vietnamese that same year
Did we greet our returning boys with parades, cheers and kisses?
No, but they found a variety of drugs and alcohol there to silently
greet them
What did they say to “Daddy, what did you do in the war”?
“I was drafted and I did what I was told: They told me not to think
and just shut the fuck up and obey”
Did they care for your PTSD gently with loving mercy and the milk of
human kindness?
No, they shunned you like they ignored the war that they silently did
not support
Did our brave leaders stand up and share the hard truths with us?
No, they kept intelligence secret and made up lies to justify our
increasing presence...and losses
Weren’t those who protested the war just a few unpatriotic,
spoiled, drug-crazed so-called hippies?
Maybe a lot of them were...But guess what!..Turns out they are
now on the right side of history
But surely those who fled to Canada, burned their draft cards or
falsely gained deferments were traitors
Maybe, but those who served parroting “My country right or wrong”
were traitors to patriotic rationality
And what of those who now proudly cover their fat in Vietnam vet
T-shirts and bald heads under Army caps?
Sorry, boys you are still wrong: you were too young to know better
then...but by now you really should
Sure you have stories of great heroism...and senseless slaughter, but
I ask again...What the fuck for?
You don’t have to hide your PTSD anymore but don’t try to
convince me of the nobleness of that false cause
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