Post by Aaron Graf on Feb 25, 2005 21:02:22 GMT -5
I Ain’t gonna study War [Martin Luther King Jr. Commemorative]
He called upon us once to change our ways before,
To help fight our battles against ignorance and poverty…
Instead of war.
Rallying millions of Americans, from the urban black to the white Mississippi farmer,
To bring the word to Washington for schools and homes instead of bullets and armor.
For the ending of hatred, racism and the way of the clan,
Civilly calling all races, religions, sexes and creeds into the brotherhood of man.
Shattering a system while taking his stance,
Putting fear into the warmongers while never resorting once to the lance…
Trying peacefully to break the division between Christian and Muslim, white or black, rich or poor,
“I don’t know about you. I ain’t gonna study war, no more.â€
But how can any civilized person not feel it is strange,
Sending our sons and daughters home physically handicapped and psychologically deranged.
He called upon us once to change our ways before,
To help fight our battles against ignorance and poverty,
Instead of war.
To let us all remember that this business of war is not just,
The business of burning human beings with napalm,
And hearing orphans and widows and parents burying their children in tears,
While watching their loved ones turned to ashes.
That a stance against this for all good men and women is a must.
And “To never let anybody make you think…
That God chose America as his divine, messianic force-to-be,
A sort of policeman of the whole world.â€
That any Christian or Atheist should always see,
“Because it seems that I can hear God saying to America.
You’re too arrogant! And if you don’t change your ways, I will rise up and break the backbone of your power.
And place it in the hands of a nation that doesn’t even know my name.
Be still and know that I am God.â€
I will never forget this wise man’s ways,
Especially now, in the world of today.
A world where Iraq and Vietnam are only different in time and place,
And Lyndon Johnson and George W. Bush only different in name and face.
That it’s still the same routine as long ago,
And our leaders still never admit to this being so.
His words are as important now as they were before,
“I don’t know about you. I ain’t gonna study war, no more.â€
~ Aaron Graf
He called upon us once to change our ways before,
To help fight our battles against ignorance and poverty…
Instead of war.
Rallying millions of Americans, from the urban black to the white Mississippi farmer,
To bring the word to Washington for schools and homes instead of bullets and armor.
For the ending of hatred, racism and the way of the clan,
Civilly calling all races, religions, sexes and creeds into the brotherhood of man.
Shattering a system while taking his stance,
Putting fear into the warmongers while never resorting once to the lance…
Trying peacefully to break the division between Christian and Muslim, white or black, rich or poor,
“I don’t know about you. I ain’t gonna study war, no more.â€
But how can any civilized person not feel it is strange,
Sending our sons and daughters home physically handicapped and psychologically deranged.
He called upon us once to change our ways before,
To help fight our battles against ignorance and poverty,
Instead of war.
To let us all remember that this business of war is not just,
The business of burning human beings with napalm,
And hearing orphans and widows and parents burying their children in tears,
While watching their loved ones turned to ashes.
That a stance against this for all good men and women is a must.
And “To never let anybody make you think…
That God chose America as his divine, messianic force-to-be,
A sort of policeman of the whole world.â€
That any Christian or Atheist should always see,
“Because it seems that I can hear God saying to America.
You’re too arrogant! And if you don’t change your ways, I will rise up and break the backbone of your power.
And place it in the hands of a nation that doesn’t even know my name.
Be still and know that I am God.â€
I will never forget this wise man’s ways,
Especially now, in the world of today.
A world where Iraq and Vietnam are only different in time and place,
And Lyndon Johnson and George W. Bush only different in name and face.
That it’s still the same routine as long ago,
And our leaders still never admit to this being so.
His words are as important now as they were before,
“I don’t know about you. I ain’t gonna study war, no more.â€
~ Aaron Graf
