Dennis Loo

Sometimes asking for the impossible is the only realistic path

Dennis Loo

Dennis Loo
Location
Los Angeles, California,
Birthday
December 31
Title
Professor of Sociology
Company
Cal Poly Pomona
Bio
Author of Globalization and the Demolition of Society; Co-Editor/Author of Impeach the President: the Case Against Bush and Cheney, World Can't Wait Steering Committee Member, co-author of "Crimes Are Crimes, No Matter Who Does Them" statement, dog and fruit tree lover. Published poet. Winner of the Alfred R. Lindesmith Award, Project Censored Award and the Nation Magazine's Most Valuable Campaign Award. Punahou and Harvard Honor Graduate. Ph.D. in Sociology from UC Santa Cruz. An archive of close to 500 postings of mine can be found at my blogspot blog, Dennis Loo, link below. I publish regularly at dennisloo.com, worldcantwait.net (link below) and also at OpEd News and sometimes at Counterpunch.

DECEMBER 8, 2009 12:21AM

To Be, or Not to Be in Afghanistan

Rate: 11 Flag

 

To be, or not to be: that is the question:

Whether ‘tis nobler to receive the Peace Prize

And sling drones and missiles at innocents,

Or to take arms against a sea of Taliban

And by opposing them multiply them? To die: to sleep;

No more; and by a sleep to say we end

The heart-ache, the deception, and the thousand natural

shocks

That flesh is heir to, 'tis a consummation

Devoutly to be wish'd. To die, to sleep;

To sleep: perchance to dream of change: ay, there's the rub;

For in that sleep of death what dreams may come

When we have shuffled off this mortal coil

Must give us pause: there's the respect for president’s

promises

That makes calamity of so long life;

For who would bear the whips and scorns of time,

The oppressor's wrong, the proud man's contumely,

The pangs of disprized love, the rule of law's delay or

annihilation,

The insolence of office and the spurns

That patient merit of the unworthy takes,

When he himself might his quietus make

With a bare bayonet? who would Marines bear,

To grunt and sweat under a weary life of misplaced

illusions,

But that the dread of something after death,

The undiscover'd Afghanistan from whose bourn

No traveller returns, puzzles the will of soldiers

And makes us rather bear those ills we have

Than fly to others that we know not of?

Thus conscience does make cowards of us all;

Or shall we look carefully o'er what in our names has

wrought?

And thus the native hue of resolution

Is sicklied o'er with the pale cast of thought,

And enterprises of great pith and moment

With this regard their currents turn awry,

And lose the name of action

Or to be replaced by fury at th' injustice?

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Comments

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(first!) Would that our congress or anyone in the White House (past or present) read Shakespeare and mused on th' learnings.

Rated for inspiration and bumping Will Shakespeare into the feed!
Old Bill would be proud.

Even if I completely disagree with your overly peacenick views, I have to admit that your words here were very well constructed and made for an enjoyable read.

Rated.
Wow, Dennis, this is great.Thanks.
Thank you Dragonlady, Andy and Carol. Caracalla - you should make a career of being a satirist, except you'd have to satirize your real views.
ah, caracella. He was something else. Those are his real views.
He is coming over for Christmas dinner, and I have the taster ready to protect myself :).
How about this nice, and real, Xmas tune from U.S. Army Snipers, to the theme of Winter Wonderland.
As my rifle fires
my opponent expires
a bullet in the head
the enemy is dead
walking in sniper wonderland
I liked your post though, and glad ur back.
grading coming up? merry xmas :)
I am sorry, I couldn't resist about the grading.
peace love and understanding
but superior firepower, just in case...
peace
This may be the finest soliloquy since Eisenhower's retirement speech in 1960 ~ which itself was second to its original version:
"The Military Congressional Industrial Complex."
Nice job Dennis.
PS - anyone want to start a pool betting on when Dennis gets his next EP? Last one was June 20.
I'll take July 2012. Open Salon lacks the guts to put this kind of courageous writing on its front page.
To DLC or not DLC
That was the question
Whether 'tis nobler to offer change to those drowning in a sea of troubles, or, in opposing, the Bankers mend.
To waffle, to weasel, to wimp. Aye, there's the Dub; again.
For in this change of name only what dreams may die
As we clear our pipes to end the illusion of Democratic concern...

'Tis a constipation devoutly to be flush'd
Spin Dr., Jill and Don: Thank you. Yes, Don, the grading continues...

Tim: Thank you so much for the honor. I'm afraid that you're right about the EPs. Who knows what their criteria are, try as I might, I can't find rhyme or reason, other than that certain individuals seem to be almost by default chosen. In a few cases, I like those choices, but many of them I have to wonder. I have given up hoping that something I write they'll select for a cover.

Paul: Clearing the pipes, yes, indeed.
keep grading. i always took breaks when i started to get irritable so i wouldn't accidentally get mean. ah, i will miss those days.
Thank you Bonnie. Yes, Don, I also have to take grading breaks!
Replace with fury at th' injustice!