Over the last year or two, there has been a lot of debate (not, I would add, without good cause) on the justification, cost, and effectiveness of our country’s involvement in military action. I came across these lines by Chesterton:
The men that worked for England
They have their graves at home:
And bees and birds of England
About the cross can roam.
But they that fought for England
Following a falling star,
Alas, alas for England
They have their graves afar.
And they that rule in England,
In stately conclave met,
Alas, alas for England
They have no graves as yet.
Gilbert Keith Chesterton (1874 – 1936)
Note the time in which Chesterton lived. What’s changed?
Apt.