Here we go again
“Have You Forgotten?”
-by Darryl Worley
I hear people saying we don’t need this war
I say there’s some things worth fighting for
What about our freedom and this piece of ground
We didn’t get to keep ’em by backing down
They say we don’t realize the mess we’re getting in
Before you start your preaching let me ask you this my friend
Have you forgotten how it felt that day?
To see your homeland under fire
And her people blown away
Have you forgotten when those towers fell?
We had neighbors still inside going thru a living hell
And you say we shouldn’t worry ’bout bin Laden
Have you forgotten?
They took all the footage off my T.V.
Said it’s too disturbing for you and me
It’ll just breed anger that’s what the experts say
If it was up to me I’d show it everyday
Some say this country’s just out looking for a fight
After 9/11 man I’d have to say that’s right
I’ve been there with the soldiers
Who’ve gone away to war
And you can bet that they remember
Just what they’re fighting for
Have you forgotten all the people killed?
Some went down like heroes in that Pennsylvania field
Have you forgotten about our Pentagon?
All the loved ones that we lost and those left to carry on
Don’t you tell me not to worry about bin Laden
Have you forgotten?
It’s official: I fucking give up.
A corny song can make you give up? Thank God Osama isn’t planning to bomb us with Celine Dion.
Celine used as an incendiary device, raining warbly death on all she surveys? Now there’s warfare I can support.
Reminds me of the incendiary bats.
I give up too. How many thousands of years of culture and someone can still write a song with that many forced rhymes.
If you play Celine Dion tapes on a 1992 Subaru tape deck she sounds exactly like Minnie Mouse. I know this from experience; I have a husband who likes to listen to her on the 5-hour drive from Madison to Minneapolis.
Nice stubble, darryl. Had lunch with a Canadian last week who told me she wished they had patriotism up there like we do down here. I told her about the people who think I’m not an American because I’m in love with another guy and I don’t believe in God. She was surprised. I said, “This patriotism shit cuts both ways. People are monkeys.” I figure I’ll trade my citizenship for hers.
Interesting… I’m one Canadian who quite clearly *doesn’t* wish to have U.S.-sytle patriotism up here…
Call the sponsors of any radio station that plays the song and tell them you’re offended. Send out a press release that says the song is harmful to children and families. Buy all the guitar string manufacturers in the US and refuse to sell to simpleton rednecks.
All it takes is organization. Move enough people into their Congressional districts, and outvote them in the next election. Where are you willing to move to save America?
I’m willing to move to Canada, for one :).
i’ve been thinking about the moving thing – think about it, teeny tiny little states like north and south dakota have as many U S Senators as California, Texas, and New York. If like a few million left wingers like myself moved to these smaller states…
bj – exactly!
You know, this just occurred to me this morning: how can you criticize somebody for giving up when it to give up you have to have actually gotten involved in the first place. Armchair punditry . . . heavy, man. If only it were really us our armed forces were putting their lives on the line for. Sounds good. Just isn’t true.
Many of us have gotten involved. By communicating with our elected representatives, by voting, by showing strength in numbers at peace rallies, by supporting each other when we feel defeated by a government ignoring reason. By identifying ourselves when we speak out. Please don’t assume we are just gnashing our teeth on the sidelines.
You know what? This is like a slap in the face. It really is. No, not the song. YOU people talking like this. The Armed Forced DO put their lives on the line for YOU! EVERY SINGLE DAY. If you don’t agree with going to war, don’t blame it on them. Blame it on Bush, blame it on Congress. They’re the ones that make the decision; the Amred Forces are the ones that follow it. You may say how much you HATE us now, but if bin Laden came back and attacked YOU, YOUR family, YOUR friends, YOUR town… You people would be the FIRST ones complaining to the military, saying that they were supposed to be there protecting you. And I don’t care if you deny it on the computer; face to face, you never could. Because it’s true.
Furthermore, why is everyone so against this? Yeah, we’re worried about war; we don’t want it. I don’t want it. But I would MUCH rather fight in this war than back down and have America and her people blown away by some power-hungry terrorist. I would MUCH rather fight in this war than be bombed, with biowarfare and chemical weaponry, out of nothing more than jealousy. And I havn’t even mentioned nuclear missiles yet…
Peace rallies. Wonderful, I wish they helped even more than they do. I would love peace on earth! But you know what? Not everyone does. And so, sadly, I doubt there ever can be. Humans just aren’t like that, uinfortunatley; we don’t all think the same way about peace, and so, as we can tell, it’s proven very hard to accomplish. I’m not saying, by any means, that you should stop trying. No, I agree completely that we should strive for peace. But blaming on this on the military is not the way to go… People need to be really careful about that. Here they are, putting their lives on the line for you EVERY MOMENT OF EVERY DAY, and people rally against them, saying the worlds problems are their fault. As I said before, this is a slap in the face. Do you have ANY idea what it’s like to have your father gone 295 days of the year? And when he is home, he’s at work, working with classifed materials? And then he comes home, and besides being tired from a normal work day, as many people around the world are, he now has problems, sometimes fatal, war related problems, and he can’t talk about them! He can’t lift the burden from his shoulders, share his worries, have his wife console him! Because there classified. But you know what? He never complains. He never makes us worry. Do you have any idea what it’s like to see your father sry as he holds you, trying to be strong in front of you when all he wants to do is break down inside? Do you know what it’s like to see him fly off to “Base X” in enimy territory to set up a temporary base, and risk his life to protect mine? Do you know what it’s like to see him walk out the door and cry yourself to sleep every night, because you know that might be the last time you see him? And sure, he can call, but we don’t even know where he goes sometimes, it’s too dangerous to tell anyone, even his own family. We just know he’s off in an enemy county, fighting a war we know next to nothing anout? Do you have ANY idea? If you can say what you just said, it’s OBVIOUS that you don’t.
And even if the military wasn’t involved, if they hadn’t been brought into this, why are so man y against patriotism? Darryl Worley isn’t promoting war. He just wants us to remember. It really does seem many have forgotten. You may blow me off as some worthless critic, and never pay any heed to this. You may hate me for what I say. Go ahead. But then, you’ll have to hate the truth as well. I apologize to anyone who posted that IS on my side, my country’s side. And to all you others… Maybe you need to take a closer look at the song, look at the meaning, and not just the words. After all… “Words Mean Things,” right? Maybe you should ask yourself a question. A very important question. I think I know the answer. Perhaps you can prove me wrong. I hope with all my heart that I AM wrong. So…
Have YOU forgotten?
Just to clarify: I never said anything against the U.S. Armed Forces. I have tremendous respect for the people who put their lives on the line on my behalf. I blame our President and a mealy-mouthed Congress for this mess, along with a citizenry too apathetic to stop it. And it’s not just this war on Iraq, but the systematic destruction of basic freedoms this country was built on.
As for the song, what I object to is connecting 9/11 with the current war with Iraq, something the lyrics clearly do without overtly stating it. And confusion between 9/11 and Saddam Hussein is one of the PR tactics the administration uses to advance its shaky cause.
I’m very pro-military, as long as the military is doing what it was meant to do: protect the security of the United States. Unfortunately, it’s gotten much bigger than that, and we’re getting our fingers into pies that are more about the financial well-being of the United States. I don’t believe that our war in Iraq is a just war. I don’t believe we’ve been doing the right thing in Japan, in Korea, in Saudi Arabia, in Somalia. There are a lot of countries upset with the United States right now, and while it’s easy to just say, “They’re jealous of us — they hate freedom,” that just doesn’t cut it. We need to look closely and realistically at our place in the world, and start figuring out how we got so unpopular.
I haven’t forgotten the World Trade Center attacks or the Pentagon attacks. But I haven’t forgotten a lot of other stuff, too, like the fact that I couldn’t serve in the military if I wanted to because I’m gay.
The United States isn’t always right, but we’re acting like we are, and we’re dismissing anyone who disagrees with us — internally or externally — and turning ourselves into a big stupid bully. I get tired of people who tell me that if I criticize my goverment then I must hate America. To them I answer: maybe you’ve forgotten something, not me. Maybe you’ve forgotten what America is about. Oil will never buy us freedom.
As I read o’er my last comment, I see that I really was overly-harsh, and I apologize; I was just trying to make a point…
As for the connection with Iraq and the WTC, I don’t think he was trying to connect those so much as he was trying to connect the WTC attacks with war in general… Trying to say that just because this is Saddam Husein and not bin Laden, that doesn’t mean history can’t repeat itself, and we have to take a stand.
I’m not saying America is always right either, and I’m sorry if it seemed I was. No one is always right. There are things that are untrue though, as far as rumors the media has spread. *Attacks on civilian children in Vietnam? Purley rumor. That has hurt the hearts of many military members, as it still does. Not saying you knew about them or believed them, I’m just giving an example.*
Jealous? Some countries that’s true, frankly, but, as you said, that’s not the case in many. I don’t think these other countries hate freedom; many times the people want to do something, even side with the ‘enemy’ of the country, and it’s the leader(s) that is/are the problem. Again, that’s not the case for all of them. You can’t look at every country we’re having problems with and ‘diagnose’ them with the same cause.
We should find out why. But we also need to DO in the meantime. Personally, I don’t think Saddam Husien is going to sit around and wait while we try to figure out what our problems are. On the opposite hand, that may be the problem. If all we’re looking at is why WE”RE at fault, pretty soon we’ll blame ONLY ourselves, dismiss the problem as something WE did wrong, and let it go. Many times it might be out fault, but only partially. Perhaps the ‘opposing’ country thinks the same way we do, but perhaps they don’t, and our fear is an opening for attack. It’s a very fine line to walk, and the paths must be chosen carefully. ~*Shrug*~ Maybe that’s the ‘problem’ with the government now. No matter how much you resent Pres. Bush, or the current Congress, you have to admit these times must be very hard, and very stressful. Perhaps they’ve just crossed to the wrong ‘side of the line’…
~*Laughs at John’s last comment, and shakes her head knowingly.*~ How true John… How true.
This song was written about the war on terror in afghanistan. It in no way, shape, or form relates to Sadaam. It was written after perfoming for the troops in afghanistan (in december). It does support the war on terror. It is currently being twisted into something else by people on both sides of the war opinion in Iraq.
I don’t think our fear has much to do with an attack. Did fear cause 9/11; what exactly were we afraid of then? Certainly you could say lack of preparedness had some part (if not in the attack, then in our response to it), but how would one realistically prepare the citizenry? Not by buying duct tape and relearning the “duck and cover” routine. The only way to prepare people for an attack is to admit it is a possibility, to acknowledge that in other countries people live with this possibility every day, survive it, and thrive. The feeling that the armed forces or anybody else is supposed to come to our rescue is ridiculous. My father was a Marine, but I don’t expect him to know how to do anything useful when/if the need arises. I understand that our government needs to make decisions based on information it would be dangerous for a normal citizen to have, but I don’t think that’s true of information in general. I do not understand why we should expect an imminent attack (deemed “terrorist” or otherwise) from Saddam Hussein. I don’t necessarily think this war is unjust, but the argument has not been effectively made that it is just. Our recent history with war is negative enough for me to take pause and question our leaders’ judgement. Government is always a stressful business. But it’s the business our representatives have chosen for themselves and usually paid a whole lot of their personal fortunes and other people’s money to get into.
…I agree with …most… of what you’re saying. On the matter of payment, though, the president really doesn’t make much at all, compared to many other jobs in this country.
I’ll just slip a quote in here; it’s fitting, and well… I’ve come to live by it, whether in actual war cases such as now, or just “daily battles.” so to speak…
“Anyone who has ever looked into the glazed eyes of a soldier dying on the battle field will think twice before starting a war.”
Your right you should all go to Canada! Pretty sure that there are people would gladly switch places with all of you.
P.S. I have looked into the eyes of a dying soldier in my arms. But I have also seened the eyes of our soldiers now and let me tell you they tell a different story then what all of you are saying!
Desert Storm I vet!
Have they designed comment bots?
Hehe… Here come the quotes. But I have to post this in reply to Red. I agree with him/her/you about what was said about “our soldiers now” and trust me… I know… This actually is from the song. Which proves another of my points… ^^’
I’ve been there with the soldiers
Who’ve gone away to war
And you can bet that they remember
Just what they’re fighting for
Kaili,
I didn’t mean paid as in a salary, I meant paid as in spent money. I.e. spent money to get the job. A low salary even more illustrates my point.
Red,
I don’t think there are many Canadians who would like to switch places with us now (or even in times of prosperity). Soldiers don’t make the decisions, anyway. They can be saying whatever they want, they are not the only people our representatives are representing! Civilians’ opinions count for just as much. In any case, you can’t generalize what all soldiers feel or what all civilians feel. Besides the fact that there are pro-war and pro-peace people both inside and outside of the armed forces, nobody here has made any attempt to denigrate the work of the armed forces.
Well….I have to say, I cannot beleive that you people are arguing about a song! It’s a song…it’s simply one mans opinion, that has, as far as I can tell been twisted into something more than what it is, which is just a song and personal opinion.
If you dont like it…don’t listen, if you do then great go ahead! Each person may hear this one differnetly….personally I do, I hear it alot differnetly then ya’ll do…..I simply hear a song about 9/11, and remembering that day, and what we as a nation decided to do about it, which was to find the people behind Bin Laden and others and wipe out global terrorism. Good thing right? I’d have to say so, I don’t walk side by side with the terrorists, and I dont like seeing ANY innocent perople in harms way. And regardless of the link or lack of “linkage” to Sadam, he is none the less a “BAD GUY”…who is and always has been up to no good! How can you disagree with that? I don’t walk beside “BAD” guys either!
If you want to agrue about war, then go ahead and do so….but realize this…..
THIS IS A FREE COUNTRY AND EVERYONE INCLUDING SINGER/SONGWRITERS HAVE THE RIGHT TO EXPRESS THEIR OPINION! YOU DON’T HAVE TO AGREE WITH THAT SAID OPINION, BUT DON’T TRY TO “BACKBALL” IT!! OTHERS DISAGREE WITH YOUR OPINIONS AND DON”T TELL YOU NOT TO SPEAK YOUR MIND!
THANK GOD WE ALL HAVE THAT RIGHT…THAT PRIVILEGE!
~PRAY FOR OUR SOLDIERS OFF FIGHTING TO KEEP THOSE FREEDOMS AND PRIVILEGES~
I meant “BLACKBALL” oops…..those darn overworked fingers and eyes!!
The war on Iraq, if it happens, on Iraq has absolutely nothing to do with “terrorism” as it relates to 9/11 or al-Qa’eda or bin Laden or any of the other elements of the War on Terror as it has been defined. It’s only link to terrorism, in fact, is the extremely flimsy pretext of pre-emptively making sure that Saddam Hussein doesn’t give “weapons of mass destruction” to terrorists in the future. Even though he’s never done it in the past. Even though he’s never shown any inclination to do it in the present or the future. Even though as a secularist he’s vehemently opposed to the agenda of the religiously-motivated terrorist groups.
I can’t believe someone would “complain” about the fact that people are arguing about a song on the Internet . . . where the hell have you been for the last five years? What else is the Internet FOR if not arguing about things, even things that you choose to identify as unimportant? Spend a few minutes on FreeRepublic.com and you’ll REALLY see what it means to argue endlessly about issues large and small.
The fact of the matter is that even though Worley DID write the song in relation to Afghnistan, it’s being released and heavily promoted right now, in the weeks before the country seems about to go to war again. I don’t think it’s at all irrational for people opposed to the war to be suspicious and annoyed about it.
Invoking sentiments about “supporting the troops” in a discussion about whether or not to go to war should be a corrolary to Godwin’s Law. It sidetracks the conversation, completely ignores rational debate on the actual reasons for or against war, and just basically derails the thread. And frankly, the idea that we need to be in favor of STARTING an unnecessary war, one with a far greater risk of causing significant US casualties than the first Gulf War, in order to somehow “support the troops” has got to be one of the most moronic ideas I’ve ever come across. I want to bring them all home without any of them having to die in street-by-street, building-by-building battles in Baghdad, so I think I’m being FAR more supportive than all the warmongers out there.
Oh, and regarding that quote about “holding a dying soldier” in one’s arms, that is exactly the reason I choose to be suspicious of this effort. None of the major political players (Bush, Cheney, Rove, Lott, etc.) has ever served in an actual conflict, and frankly I don’t think they really do understand what they’re getting the country, and it’s armed forces, into.