{"id":55428,"date":"2014-09-25T12:30:33","date_gmt":"2014-09-25T16:30:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/valorguardians.com\/blog\/?p=55428"},"modified":"2014-09-25T15:49:48","modified_gmt":"2014-09-25T19:49:48","slug":"white-horses","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.azuse.cloud\/?p=55428","title":{"rendered":"White Horses"},"content":{"rendered":"

Seeing TSO\u2019s article from last night<\/a> regarding the ongoing Left Coast \u201cSaga of Teh Stoopid\u201d reminded me of something I’ve been pondering for a while. So since Jonn lets me wax foolish here from time to time, I decided I\u2019d share it.<\/p>\n

Yeah, that means I\u2019m about to ramble \u201coff the res\u201d a bit again. Consider yourselves warned. (smile)<\/p>\n

. . . <\/strong><\/p>\n

TSO ended his article with a lyric from Emerson, Lake, and Palmer \u2013 ELP, for short. It was thoroughly apropos for his purposes.<\/p>\n

But it brings to mind another tune from ELP. And I\u2019d guess that one resonates even more strongly, if perhaps a bit ambiguously, with many of TAH’s readers.<\/p>\n

The tune is Lucky Man<\/em>. For those readers who might be unfamiliar with it, I\u2019ve linked a clip below.<\/p>\n

Released in 1970, the song was not<\/span> written to protest the Vietnam War \u2013 though many at the time and since doubtless took it to be exactly that. Greg Lake, the song\u2019s author, wrote in 1959-1960, when he was 12 years old. It sat unrecorded until the sessions for ELP\u2019s first album \u2013 and ended up on that self-titled record.<\/p>\n

It’s not a typical ELP tune.\u00a0 It\u2019s written more-or-less as a piece from an English Medieval traveling minstrel, updated to be more modern lyrically.\u00a0 Lake wrote it on and for the acoustic guitar.<\/p>\n

On the surface, the song addresses the futility of war and the waste of life inherent in same. A man who \u201chad everything\u201d goes to war and loses it all when he’s killed in battle. It makes a powerful, if perhaps unintended, anti-war statement.\u00a0\u00a0 Many doubtless see the tune as a paean for pacifism.<\/p>\n

And yet . . . I think most of us who\u2019ve served may view it a bit differently.<\/p>\n

In the song, yes \u2013 the main character dies. And he\u2019s understandably sad on realizing he’s about to die.<\/p>\n

But consider:\u00a0 he dies voluntarily. He dies while serving a cause greater than himself. And he dies doing his duty to that greater cause \u2013 in this case, his nation.<\/p>\n

His nation called. He answered. It cost him dearly.\u00a0 But he died honorably and true to himself nonetheless.<\/p>\n

Each of us who has served has given that possibility some thought. Anyone who’s served and hasn\u2019t (or didn’t) is IMO a complete and utter fool.<\/p>\n

And anyone who\u2019s served voluntarily has decided \u2013 implicitly or explicitly \u2013 \u201cI\u2019m OK with that\u201d.<\/p>\n

. . . <\/strong><\/p>\n

Anyway, my take is this: yes, the story is sad. Life is sad sometimes. Not all stories have happy endings.<\/p>\n

But in at least one respect, IMO the title is apropos. The man in question\u2019s life was forfeit while serving a cause that mattered. He spent his life willingly. While not perhaps the end he wanted, he went out on his own terms while doing what he wanted to do.\u00a0 The ending to his life was honorable.<\/p>\n

Some aren\u2019t so lucky. They never do anything meaningful in their lives. They never serve a cause larger than themselves.\u00a0\u00a0 And whatever they do, it\u2019s about their<\/em> wants and needs \u2013 not about serving a greater cause.<\/p>\n

So you tell me: was the man lucky? I don\u2019t know. Everyone has to decide that for themselves. I\u2019ve got somewhat mixed feelings personally.<\/p>\n

But on balance, I\u2019d have to say \u2013 yes he was. He died doing his duty, voluntarily serving his nation.\u00a0 He died doing something that mattered<\/em>.<\/p>\n

I\u2019d guess many of our readers feel the same.<\/p>\n

. . .<\/strong><\/p>\n

Enough rambling for today.\u00a0 Heading back to the res.<\/p>\n