Too Many "Infamous" Days

in•fa•mous
ˈinfəməs/
adjective

well known for some bad quality or deed.
"an infamous war criminal"
wicked; abominable.
"the medical council disqualified him for infamous misconduct"

There have been far too many days of infamy in my lifetime. The attack on Pearl Harbor occurred five years before my birth. Yet, since my birth, there have been genocides, wars, unjust executions, terrorist attacks, mass killings, police brutality, etc. Each of these of events have been, to me, infamous:

 

 

The Songs Soldiers Sang

At 5 a.m. on the morning of the 11^th of November 1918, an armistice—a cessation of hostilities as a prelude to peace negotiations—was signed between Germany and the Allied Powers, effectively putting an end to The Great Was (World War I). The hostilities were to cease six hours later, at 11:00 a.m.—the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month of 1918.

For 35 years November 11^th was known and celebrated as Armistice Day. Then the designation was changed to Veterans Day to celebrate all veterans of all America’s many wars.

I have a theory that other folks may share: if you want facts to put in your head, read a book, attend a lecture, watch a documentary film, etc. If you want to touch your heart, read a poem or listen to a song (or, better still, sing a song). So, in honor of today, I am sharing songs of American's many wars.

The Revolutionary War

The War of 1812

The Mexican War

The Civil War: Union

The Civil War: Confederacy

Indian Wars (2nd half 19th Century)

Spanish-American War

The Great War (WWI)

World War II

Korean War

Vietnam

Gulf War

Iraq

I have spent quite a bit of time researching and writing this post. Still, it is far from complete. There are many more songs that I have not listed. There are many wars, too. After all, since 1776 the United States has been at war 91% of the time, making us the most warlike nation since ancient Rome.

Let me put this in perspective:

* Pick any year since 1776 and there is about a 91% chance that America was involved in some war during that calendar year.

* No U.S. president truly qualifies as a peacetime president.  Instead, all U.S. presidents can technically be considered “war presidents.”

* The U.S. has never gone a decade without war.

* The only time the U.S. went five years without war (1935-40) was during the isolationist period of the Great Depression.

So, to end this post, please hear this one song:

July 4, 1776 vs. July 4, 2015

1776

IN CONGRESS, JULY 4, 1776

The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America

When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness...

Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death! ~ Patrick Henry’s “Treason Speech” before the Virginia House of Burgesses, March 23, 1775

…that these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent States. ~ Richard Henry Lee, June 7, 1776, proposal to the Continental Congress

I am well aware of the toil, and blood, and treasure, that it will cost us to maintain this declaration, and support and defend these states. Yet, through all the gloom, I can see the rays of light and glory; I can see that the end is more than worth all the means, and that posterity will triumph. ~ John Adams, July 3, 1776, in a letter to his wife, Abigail

There! His Majesty can now read my name without glasses. And he can double the reward on my head! John Hancock, upon signing the Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776

We must all hang together, or assuredly we shall all hang separately. ~ Benjamin Franklin, at the signing of the Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776

Our cause is noble; it is the cause of mankind! ~ George Washington

Permit me then to recommend from the sincerity of my heart, ready at all times to bleed in my country's cause, a Declaration of Independence, and call upon the world and the Great God who governs it to witness the necessity, propriety and rectitude thereof ~ Nathanael Greene, General, Continental Army

These are the times that try men's souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. ~ Thomas Paine, The Crisis, December 23, 1776

2015

Days of Infamy

in·fa·my

ˈinfəmē/

noun

1. the state of being well known for some bad quality or deed.

   "a day that will live in infamy"

   synonyms:

   notoriety, disrepute, ill fame, disgrace, discredit, shame, dishonor,ignominy, scandal, censure, blame, disapprobation, condemnation More

   • an evil or wicked act.

     "one of history's greatest infamies"

December 7, 1941

While President Roosevelt's words, a date which will live in infamy, are well known the world over, I should like to suggest that there are quite a few days of infamy in history. Here are just a few recent ones:

September 11, 2001

April 19, 1995

July 11, 1995

April 6, 1994 

April 19, 1993

August 9, 1945

August 6, 1945

These are just a few days of infamy over the past 73 years. Throughout human history there have been many, many more. 

On this Second Sunday of Advent, let us look forward to a time when there will be no more days of infamy to add to the list.