What Poets Can Teach Us About the War in Afghanistan

The latest from the new AF-PAK poet laureate: What Poets Can Teach Us About the War in Afghanistan by Andrew J. Bacevich at The New Republic. BLUF: “If we fail to reach that end point in the Hindu Kush or Baluchistan, perhaps we’ll find it in Yemen. Or Iran. Or could it lie somewhere on the Horn of Africa? The opportunities appear endless. Onward! Somewhere out there surely the world must have an end.”

That said, he does offer up serious food for thought and it did provide a butt-stroke to my memory group in regards to a quote/scene from Dead Poets Society that, while not haunting me, makes me think, real hard, about what we do and what it means. After all, they are the youth and our future; they are our national treasure, and they deserve our best efforts, not just our best sound bites.

“They’re not that different from you, are they? Same haircuts. Full of hormones, just like you. Invincible, just like you feel. The world is their oyster. They believe they’re destined for great things, just like many of you, their eyes are full of hope, just like you. Did they wait until it was too late to make from their lives even one iota of what they were capable? Because, you see gentlemen, these boys are now fertilizing daffodils. But if you listen real close, you can hear them whisper their legacy to you. Go on, lean in. Listen, you hear it? – – Carpe – – hear it? – – Carpe, carpe diem, seize the day boys, make your lives extraordinary.”