-Caveat Lector-
<<Everyone should take a trip to the 'poppy fields' of France and Belgium to
witness the rows upon rows upon rows of grave markers that occupy vast tracts
of land as memorials to those times. At Verdun, for example, is a great big
building, L'Ossuaire de Douaumont, that houses the bones of the unidentified,
presiding over a vast cemetary of fallen WW One combatants. A<>E<>R >>
From
http://www.quebecoislibre.org/991106-13.htm
{{<Begin>}}
REMEMBRANCE DAY
FLANDERS FIELDS REVISITED
by Scott Carpenter
Liberty Free Press
In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders Fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die,
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders Fields.
John McCrae – 1915
John McCrae died in 1918 as a result of injuries sustained in WWI. I
often wonder what he would have to say if he were here today to witness the
state that this once great nation has fallen into. Would he be oblivious like
most of us are to the decay of our democracy and the rise of the beast called
socialism? Or would he, like many of the vets I have spoken with lately,
complain bitterly about the intrusion of the state into our everyday lives?
Of course any answer to this question would be mere speculation. Or
would it?
Take up our quarrel with the foe
Who was John's foe? The Germans? On a superficial level the answer
may be that simple. But in any other possible universe the answer may have been
different. The fact of the matter is that John's foe, at least physically
speaking, could have been a number of different peoples. It is my assertion
that in fact John's foe was not simply « the German people » but rather the
ideology which they, at that point in history, happened to embody.
What ideology was that? Without going into a very nit picky and deep
analysis of Germany's history up to and including the beginning of the 20th
century one would have to classify it as fascism. John, in my opinion, was
calling on future generations to defend the ideals that he and his brethren
were giving their lives for. He and millions like him, died in the quest to
preserve our freedom.
But in what way have we honoured their sacrifice? Almost a hundred
years ago these brave men gave their lives so that our Common Wealth could
remain in a state of Liberty. But now, as I look around me I fear that we have
failed John and his comrades. I fear that the words of one WWII Veteran I
recently spoke with have come true:
« Scott, how can we believe that we have the right to life when our
own government won't recognize our right to own private property? For God's
sake that's what we were fighting for wasn't it? For our own freedom? Do they
think we are stupid? How can we call ourselves free when our own lives don't
even belong to us in the eyes of our government? I'm nearly dead son. I just
hope your generation has the courage to do something about it. »
« Each generation born into this world seems to understand less and less the
principles of individual liberty which made this continent so strong. »
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If the handing off of this torch were a football game my generation
has fumbled the ball. And perhaps so too has my father's. Each generation born
into this world seems to understand less and less the principles of individual
liberty which made this continent so strong. From Texas to the Yukon Canadians
and Americans have enjoyed lives free from conflict and oppression. But this is
changing and the mechanisms which degrade these principles come at us from
every legal and philosophical direction imaginable. From antitrust laws in the
U.S. to gun control in Canada, all serve one ultimate purpose: to subjugate the
individual to the power of the state. In another generation or two, with the
help of « Grand Fathering Clauses » and « Orders in Council » private ownership
of firearms will be non existent in this country. Lovers of Freedom and Liberty
are effectively being bred out of existence.
I read somewhere once that « If we truly cared about our children and
future generations, instead of demagoging about them, we'd worry more about
saving liberty than saving Social Security. » We have failed John because we
chose to turn to our government to take care us instead of looking after
ourselves. Dependence on the state breeds complacency. Complacency is the
handmaiden of tyranny for it is this quality that allows our leaders and
bureaucrats to expand their powers for « our own good ». In the rush to grab a
piece of the socialist pie we have inadvertently allowed the government to
shackle us with the chains of slavery. In the end we have unknowingly embraced
the very system that John and our ancestors died fighting.
If ye break faith with us who die,
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders Fields.
Beware. The dead are stirring.
{{<End>}}
From
http://www.quebecoislibre.org/991106-6.htm
{{<Begin>}}
MUSINGS BY MADDOCKS
IN FLANDERS FIELDS
by Ralph Maddocks
Walking around the streets at this time of year one sees fewer and
fewer people wearing poppies. Mainly they are worn by the older men and women
who have a closer connection with the events commemorated by this attractive
little flower. I often wonder how many of my fellow citizens know where this
emblem came from. Occasional inquiries have produced various responses; ranging
from a near approximation to the truth to expressions of total ignorance.
How many know of the Canadian connection to this small red flower
which grows so profusely in the fields of Flanders? It was Colonel John McCrae,
a Medical officer with the first Canadian Army contingent who first described
The Flanders Poppy as the « Flower of Remembrance ». It was during a lull in
the action of the second battle of Ypres in 1915 that he wrote a poem on a
scrap of paper torn from his despatch book from which the following is taken:
In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
The verses were sent anonymously to a British magazine and published
under the title « In Flanders' Fields ». In January of 1918, Colonel McCrae
perhaps sensing his own impending death quoted the last lines from his own poem
to the doctor in charge of his case.
Tell them this,
If ye break faith with us who die,
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.
The first Poppy Day
It was, however, an American lady, a Miss Moina Michael, who,
impressed by that last verse wrote a poem called «The Victory Emblem ». On
November 9th 1918, just two days before the Armistice was signed, she was
attending a conference of War Secretaries of the YMCA held at her house. She
was presented with a small gift of money which she decided to use to buy and
sell 25 poppies. The French Secretary, Madame Guérin, had the idea that
artificial poppies should be made and sold throughout the world to help ex-
servicemen and their dependants in need. The first Poppy Day was held in
Britain on November 11th 1921 and a factory, employing five disabled ex-
servicemen, started making them there in 1922. The Royal British Legion, like
its Canadian counterpart has been distributing them ever since.
If you are bored enough to watch the Parliamentary channel on TV you
will notice that the members from the rest of Canada seem proud to wear their
poppies at this time of the year. You will notice no doubt that the members of
the main Quebec party do not, in general, do so. Exactly like most of their
provincial counterparts in fact.
If one reads the history of Quebec, especially prior to the second
World War, a possible explanation emerges for the seeming reluctance of this
province's politicians to display this emblem. Many of the politicians and self
described elite of that time were actually supportive of the fascist philosophy
espoused by Benito Mussolini in Italy, Adolf Hitler in Nazi Germany and
Francisco Franco in Spain. As a result, many of them viewed the war being
conducted against Nazi Germany as not being a righteous war, and participation
in it was considered to be service on behalf of a Jewish conspiracy.
« We talk and write often about liberty and the many attacks being made upon
it. Those whom we honour by wearing the poppy took practical steps to defend
it. »
In 1944, the Bloc populaire candidate in the Cartier riding was
asking questions such as; «What right do these people (Jews) have to ask us to
get killed, to ruin our country, because they have suffered? » Many more
prominent Quebec figures, among them Henri Bourassa, André Laurendeau, Abbé
Groulx, Jean Drapeau, Pierre Trudeau, Gérard Pelletier and Camille Laurin were
supporters of the Bloc populaire which opposed conscription into the Canadian
armed forces. It is very interesting to read their various explanations after
the war and the elegant fictions they have since devised to explain away their
former views.
This breach of good taste on the part of our politicians,
particularly those of the separatist persuasion, dishonours the memory of those
thousands of brave French and English Canadians from Quebec (who would be
Québécois today) and other parts of Canada, who fought and died in two world
wars so that many of these same politicians could continue to cling tenaciously
to their bizarre and discredited views.
True and fictitious heroes
One might think that a movement which seeks to unite its « pure laine
» citizenry would at least seek to honour the memory of those patriotic « pure
laine » heroes who gave their lives for freedom and their « pays » about which
they pontificate so often. Most movements have their heroes, but this movement
seems to consider those who sacrificed themselves for liberty as simply so many
sheeps. They prefer leaders or heroes like Dollard Des Ormeaux whose largely
fictitious deeds the Abbé Groulx celebrated, and whose memory is now
perpetuated each May 24th. Perhaps the advantage of a partially fictitious hero
is that you can change the legend to suit the occasion. Throughout the history
of Quebec there are references to the search for a leader. We find examples of
it from Jean Bruchési's plea for « un chef » in 1926, in André Laurendeau's
editorial intercession in 1935 through Maurice Duplessis to today's
acclamation, by some, of Lucien Bouchard as the potential « saviour » of
Quebec.
Immediately after the second world war one can find many of those
same prominent names, still members of Quebec's intellectual establishment,
cropping up writing letters in defence of the various « immigrants » from Vichy
France who were being threatened with deportation. Individuals whose wartime
activities as Nazi collaborators and Vichy officials meant that they were not
welcome in De Gaulle's France. In fact, many were subsequently sentenced in
absentia. Their Quebec supporters who gave them money, food and shelter
exercised their political influence in their favour sometimes successfully,
sometimes not. In all fairness, it should be pointed out that these escaped
criminals must also have had considerable assistance from people in the Federal
government.
The fact that many of these same people have been largely responsible
for creating and manipulating public opinion since those times, perhaps
explains why the Quebec population, by and large, no longer bothers to remember
the ultimate sacrifices for freedom made on their behalf. We talk and write
often about liberty and the many attacks being made upon it. Those whom we
honour by wearing the poppy took practical steps to defend it; we should not
break faith with them.
{{<End>}}
A<>E<>R
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Integrity has no need of rules. -Albert Camus (1913-1960)
+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
The only real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking
new landscapes but in having new eyes. -Marcel Proust
+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
"Believe nothing, no matter where you read it, or who said
it, no matter if I have said it, unless it agrees with your
own reason and your common sense." --Buddha
+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
It is preoccupation with possessions, more than anything else, that
prevents us from living freely and nobly. -Bertrand Russell
+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
"Everyone has the right...to seek, receive and impart
information and ideas through any media and regardless
of frontiers." Universal Declaration of Human Rights
+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
"Always do sober what you said you'd do drunk. That will
teach you to keep your mouth shut." Ernest Hemingway
+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
Forwarded as information only; no endorsement to be presumed
+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material
is distributed without charge or profit to those who have
expressed a prior interest in receiving this type of information
for non-profit research and educational purposes only.
DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER
==========
CTRL is a discussion and informational exchange list. Proselyzting propagandic
screeds are not allowed. Substance—not soapboxing! These are sordid matters
and 'conspiracy theory', with its many half-truths, misdirections and outright
frauds is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects
spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRL
gives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers;
be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credeence to Holocaust denial and
nazi's need not apply.
Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector.
========================================================================
Archives Available at:
http://home.ease.lsoft.com/archives/CTRL.html
http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/
========================================================================
To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email:
SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED]
To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email:
SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Om
