Suppose they gave a war and nobody came
There was no one to drop the bombs, no one to cause the pain
No one to call the “enemy” and no one to fuel the rage
No one to let the roaring lion out of confusion’s cage
Suppose there was no “I”, there was no “me” and no “mine”
We shared all things in common, we all guarded freedom’s line
Suppose there was no rhyme or reason to sound the battle call
There was only peace on earth and goodwill toward one and all
Suppose they gave a war and nobody came
Such a radical idea most assuredly would be insane
For we must guard against the terror from without and within
And throw the battle's first stone as if we are without sin
Someone once said that love of wealth is the root of all evil
And a twisted science that argues otherwise truly honors the devil
But go decorate your artificial tree and sing “away in a manger”
And pretend that Christian America is not a clear and present danger
Whitewash the one who taught us to put away our sword
Create a shallow sham religion instead of taking him at his word
Make plans for war, ignore the sick and poor, while noting his birthday
And pretend he never warned us of a judgment price to pay
Suppose they gave a war and nobody came ¹
But nuclear missiles and space-ray weapons were fired just the same
The war was over before it began, all that remained was an historical footnote
“No one survived to record just who it was who became Armageddon’s goat”
Witness For Peace CIS Development Foundation
DEDICATED TO: Isaiah, history’s great prophet of peace; “They shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore.” *
Credits:
1. Line concept from the motion picture title, Suppose They Gave A War And Nobody Came; starring Ernest Borgnine and Tony Curtis; directed by Hy Averback (1970).
*FootNote: President Junior Bush in a typical display of unmitigated insolence, unabashedly quoted Isaiah in a recent speech from an aircraft carrier celebrating the United States’ supposed 'victory' in Iraq; notwithstanding, almost one third as many American troops who perished during this illegal war of international aggression have since died after our so-called victory over this relatively defenseless nation. And more U.S. (and British) soldiers continue to die almost daily as this note is being written. People who initiate and otherwise, support war in the modern 21st Century may call themselves Christians, they may vainly imagine somehow that they are being patriotic and they may even sincerely believe they are doing right. But it will be a cold day in hell before they have the support of Isaiah, history's great prophet of peace and a far, far colder one before they are even remotely following the prince of peace, Jesus of Nazareth, who very clearly taught us to put away our swords of aggression. There is no justifiable argument backing aggression involving the one of whom the angels sang, "peace on earth, goodwill towards people". His message of good news is very, very clear---love, not war, equals peace.
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