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 Greetings! You are reading an article from The Mudville Gazette. To reach the front page, with all the latest news and views, click the logo above or "main" below. Thanks for stopping by! May 24, 2007 The Free and the BraveBy GreyhawkOver in America, home of the free The brave, far from home, are standing tall We're making history Some would like to tell you that we can't get it done Here making history, hearing the noise So forgive me if I come home a little annoyed Posted by Greyhawk / May 24, 2007 8:55 PM | Permalink 13 Comments |
November 26, 2010America@war [Greyhawk]
I think anyone who's ever pondered the "comment" option - once only available on blogs and bulletin boards, now ubiquitous on almost any web site - will appreciate this:
The so-called faculty of writing is not so much a faculty of writing as it is a faculty of thinking. When a man says, "I have an idea but I can't express it"; that man hasn't an idea but merely a vague feeling. If a man has a feeling of that kind, and will sit down for a half an hour and persistently try to put into writing what he feels, the probabilities are at least 90 percent that he will either be able to record it, or else realize that he has no idea at all. In either case, he will do himself a benefit. That's wisdom from the past, captured for posterity at the US Naval Institute, shared via the web on the institute's 137th anniversary. From their about page:
"The Naval Institute has three core activities," among them, History and Preservation: The Naval Institute also has recently introduced Americans at War, a living history of Americans at war in their own words and from their own experiences. These 90-second vignettes convey powerful stories of inspiration, pride, and patriotism. Take a look at the collection, and you'll see it's not limited to accounts from those who served on ships at sea, members of the other branches are well-represented. I'm fortunate to have met USNI's Mary Ripley, she's responsible for the institute's oral history program (and she's the daughter of the late John Ripley, whose story is told here). She also deserves much credit for their blog. ("We're not the Navy nor any government agency. Blog and comment freely.") We met at a milblog conference - Mary knew (and I would come to realize) that milbloggers are the 21st-century version of exactly what the US Naval Institute is all about. Once that light bulb came on in my head, I mentioned a vague idea for a project to her - milblogs as the 21st century oral history that they are. "Put that in writing," she said (of course - see first paragraph above!) - and here's part of the result. Shortly after the first tent was pitched by the American military in Iraq a wire was connected to a computer therein, and the internet was available to a generation of Americans at war - many of whom had grown up online. From that point on, at any given moment, somewhere in Iraq a Soldier, Sailor, Airman or Marine was at a keyboard sharing the events of his or her day with the folks back home. While most would simply fire off an email, others took advantage of the (then) relatively new online blogging platforms to post their thoughts and experiences for the entire world to see. The milblog was born - and from that moment to this stories detailing everything from the most mundane aspects of camp life to intense combat action (often described within hours of the event) have been available on the web... And et cetera - but since you're reading this on a milblog, you probably knew that. And you know that milblogs aren't just blogs written by troops at war, that many friends, family members, and supporters likewise documented their story of America at war online in near-real time, as those stories developed. The diversity in membership of that group is broad, the one thing we all have in common is the impulse to make sense of the seemingly senseless, and communicate the tale - for each of us that impulse was strong enough to overcome whatever barriers prevent the vast majority of people from doing the same. Everyone at some point has some vague idea they believe should be shared - we were the people who, from some combination of internal and external urging, found and spent those many half hours persistently trying to write it down. But where will all that be in another 137 years? Or five or ten, for that matter. That's something I've asked myself since at least 2004 - when I wrote this:
Membership in the ghost battalion has grown in the years since, and an ever growing majority of those abandoned-but-still-standing sites are vanishing. Have you checked out Lt Smash's site lately? How about Sgt Hook's? If you're a long-time milblog reader you know the first widely-read milblog from Operation Iraq Freedom and the first widely-read milblog from Afghanistan are both gone from the web. If you're a relative newcomer to this world you may never even have heard of them - or the dozens upon dozens of others who carried forth the standard they set down. If you have a vague notion that something should be done about that, (a notion I've heard expressed more than once...) then you and I and the good folks at the US Naval Institute are in agreement. Preserving the history documented by the milbloggers is just one of the goals of the milblog project, the once-vague idea that we're now making real. And it's a big idea, if I say so myself - too big to explain in one simple blog post, so stand by for more. Likewise, it's too big a task to be accomplished by just one person. So if you're a milblogger (and exactly what is a milblogger? is a topic for much further discussion on its own) I'm asking for your help. All I'll really need is just a little bit (maybe just one or two of those half hours...) of your time, and your willingness to tell the tale. We've already made history, it's time to save it. (More to follow...) Posted 4:02 PM | Permalink |
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The Mudville Gazette is the on-line voice of an American warrior and his wife who stands by him. They prefer to see peaceful change render force of arms unnecessary. Until that day they stand fast with those who struggle for freedom, strike for reason, and pray for a better tomorrow.
 
 
 Furthermore, I will occasionally use satire or parody herein. The bottom line: it's my house. I like having visitors to my house. I hope you are entertained. I fight for your right to free speech, and am thrilled when you exercise said rights here. Comments and e-mails are welcome, but all such communication is to be assumed to be 1)the original work of any who initiate said communication and 2)the property of the Mudville Gazette, with free use granted thereto for publication in electronic or written form. If you do NOT wish to have your message posted, write "CONFIDENTIAL" in the subject line of your email. Original content copyright © 2003 - 2011 by Greyhawk. Fair, not-for-profit use of said material by others is encouraged, as long as acknowledgement and credit is given, to include the url of the original source post. Other arrangements can be made as needed. Contact: greyhawk at mudvillegazette dot com  Tending Distant Far from hearth and home, watching What tales we'll tell When things grim Some distant sunset, vision fading Saluting fallen friends whose names - Greyhawk, Baghdad, December 2004 |
I think you should record it or sell it to Toby Keith and have him record it cause it is an awesome song. Not to mention it is sooo true
I like this poem! I like this poem alot!!
Lorin
Good words, can't wait to hear how it sounds to you in your head.
What Earl said!
I like it! (no suprise)
Once again, you show your disdain for America, Americans and all we stand for. You belittle those who may have a different opinion than you and you chastise them for "making noise" about it.
If you hate America so much, why don't you just stay in Iraq? Here is your big opportunity to make a dictatorship in your image. In fact, if you stayed there and never came back, that would be fine with me since you hate us "noise makers" so much.
I can't help but wonder though that maybe those two soldiers would be found by now and that maybe less soldiers would be killed by now if their officers did not go around writing songs while they were "driving around in their humvees".
Kevin, you idiot! Do you think every officer in Iraq is responsible for the missing men? Have you been there? What you do is helping the ones who captured them. Give yourself a pat on the back for that. What do you do to help America? What is your contribution to the world?
I actually don't remember anywhere in Greyhawk's song that he said you didn't have the right to protest. Get you facts straight before you make assertions. What he did say is you are "making noise". In other words, he doesn't share your opinion about the war. What I think is sick is how you could assert that he HATES America just b/c he doesn't like your protests or believe in them. You sure you wouldn't like to call him a baby killer or join forces with Rosie and call him a terrorist also. Oh, I'm sorry you already have that covered with your comparison of Greyhawk and the rest of his ilk (i.e. the military men and women) to Nazis.
Because SpecreCode wrote his comment on my blog as well, I went back to reread my posting on my blog. He/She accused me of claiming Greyhawk said I did not have the right to protest.
I reread my posting and NO WHERE on my blog did I make that claim. I said he holds disdain for protesters and belittles them but no where did I say Greyhawk claimed we did not have the right.
So, I assumed since SpectreCode must have seen this somewhere, I went to my comment here to just see what the hell he/she was talking about. Did I make the claim here?
Well, no. I reread my comment here and never once said Greyhawk said that. So, in the words of the Caveman on the Geico commercial, my response to SpectraCode is:
WHAT?? What the hell are you talking about?? Are you just making things up to argue against?
I actually don't remember anywhere in Kevin's post where he stated that Greyhawk said Americans don't have the right to protest.
Get all your facts straight before you make assertions. And maybe don't do the very thing you accus others of doing, yeah? Just a suggestion if you don't want to look ignorent or like a hippocrate.
No wonder we're still in Iraq, and it's been longer than we were in WWII.
Everyone here supports the troops. But the only remaining supporters of this failed "plan" are folks like you and Greyhawk - along with draft-dodgers Bush and Cheney. You're in good company, mate.
I apologize. Maybe I read into your comments too much. But when you throw around words like "disdain" and "hates america", then you state, "He would prefer it to be some kind of dictatorship where it is made in his image." It just seems kind of implied that you think he would like all of you to "go away". Last time, I checked most dictators didn't look too favorably on dissenting views, just ask Saddam.
But what I think is funny is how hypocritical you are. You say "He hates dissent, he hates protests, he hates anything that does not support his jackbooted idea of what America should be." Yet this is exactly how you treat his opinion. You use allusions to dictatorship, hating America, and Nazism in you description of him and his opinions and others that happen to share his view. I certainly believe he has earned the right to not agree with you ideas. I believe he has the right to assert that they are "noise". Just like it is your right to use off-hand, emotional charged words like "Nazi" and "dictatorship" At least, he has enough respect to temper his words when describing the "dissenting" view.
Oh BTW, I loved the slander you wrote about John McCain:
"In a guest appearance today, John McCain decided he wanted to kill some innocent American soldiers. As a result of his stupid and inane remarks such as, "Voting against Iraq is like a vote of surrender" (Paraphrase), six more soldiers were killed.
Thanks to Senator John McCain, our soldiers are being killed at break neck speed. McCain is a killer and for his performance he wins an honorary "George W. Bush War Criminal" award."
Who hates dissent?? Who shows disdain??
"In this posting he, once again, describes how protesters are just "making noise" and he is making history. This LTC HATES America. He would prefer it to be some kind of dictatorship where it is made in his image. Instead of saying to the protesters, "Congratulations for exercising your right" he just degrades them.
Yes, Mudville and his ilk are making history in much the same way Nazi Germany made history: It is BAD history, believe me."
@steve -
Last I checked I wasn't your mate.
Maybe you shouldn't assert what my beliefs are, mate! You don't know me and know nothing about my beliefs, mate!
Wow, lighten up, Francis. Look at all them exclamation points.
Didn't feel your response was strong enough to post both here as well as at the Command TOC like you did before? It appears you can point fingers of blame over there, but ya just can't admit a mistake back where them godless liberals might read it, eh? S'okay, most neocons are the same.
Even still, you're my mate. Unlike you and ol' Greyhawk, us good Christian folks love America and all Americans - even if and especially when they disagree with us. Give Paine a read sometime.
But it's Memorial Day so thanks for any service you might have and God Bless.
Greyhawk - fine job. The prior comment about you sending those words on to Toby Keith was spot-on!
Your love of America is apparent to all who share that fellow-feeling with you.