Editorial

Age-old message still resonates today

Monday, December 24, 2012

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow had just lost his wife, Frances, in an accidental fire, when he received word that his son, Charles Appleton Longfellow, had been severely wounded in the Civil War -- he had enlisted in the Union Army without his father's blessing.

He was moved to write the following poem, its message of hope as relevant today as it when he wrote it, on Christmas Day 1863:

I heard the bells on Christmas Day

Their old, familiar carols play,

and mild and sweet

The words repeat

Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

And thought how, as the day had come,

The belfries of all Christendom

Had rolled along

The unbroken song

Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

Till ringing, singing on its way,

The world revolved from night to day,

A voice, a chime,

A chant sublime

Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

Then from each black, accursed mouth

The cannon thundered in the South,

And with the sound

The carols drowned

Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

It was as if an earthquake rent

The hearth-stones of a continent,

And made forlorn

The households born

Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

And in despair I bowed my head;

"There is no peace on earth," I said;

"For hate is strong,

And mocks the song

Of peace on earth, good-will to men!"

Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:

"God is not dead, nor doth He sleep;

The Wrong shall fail,

The Right prevail,

With peace on earth, good-will to men."

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  • Peace on Earth, the storys are told

    Yet many a soldier stands in the cold

    Weapon ready, for an enemy to sight

    For yet, there'll be more war tonight

    We sing and dance, give presents dear

    As the price of freedom, rings so clear

    We wonder why a veteran has no legs

    Growl, 'Get a job,' when ere he begs

    For Peace on Earth, there is a trick

    Speak very softly, but carry big Stick

    Then, Right will win, Wrong will loose

    Safe in our beds, we all can snooze.

    Jesus came to give peace to men

    The kind of peace, no war can win

    If every soul would love God's way

    We'd have Peace on Earth, every day.

    AMEN

    -- Posted by Navyblue on Tue, Dec 25, 2012, at 5:33 PM
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