With God On Our Side

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Oct. 3, 2005.

With God on Our Side

Oh my name it is nothing,
My age it means less.
The country I come from
Is called the midwest.
I was taught and brought up there,
The laws to abide,
And that the land that I live in
Has God on its side.

The history books tell it;
They tell it so well:
The cavalries charged,
The Indians fell.
The cavalries charged,
And the Indians died.
Oh, the country was young,
With God on its side.

Then the Spanish-American
War had its day.
The Civil War too
Was soon laid away.
The names of the heros
I was made to memorize,
With guns in their hands,
And God on their side.

The First World War, boys,
Well, it came and it went.
The reason for fighting
I never did get.
But I learned to accept it,
Accept it with pride.
For you don't count the dead
When God's on your side.

When the Second World War
Came to an end,
We forgave the Germans,
And then we were friends.
Though they murdered six million,
In the ovens they fried,
The Germans now too have
God on their side.

I've learned to hate Russians
All through my whole life.
If another war comes,
It's them we must fight.
To hate them and fear them,
To run and to hide,
And accept it all bravely
With God on our side.

And now we have weapons
Of a chemical dust.
If fire them we're forced to,
Then fire them we must.
One push of the button,
And a shot the world wide...
But you never ask questions
When God's on your side.
Through many a dark hour
I've been thinking about this:
That Jesus Christ
Was betrayed by a kiss.
Now, I can't think for you,
You'll have to decide
Whether Judas Iscariot
Had God on his side.

So now as I'm leaving,
I'm weary as hell.
The confusion I'm feeling,
No tongue can tell.
The words fill my head, then
They fall to the floor:
If God is on our side
He'll stop the next war.

Those words were written by Robert Zimmerman (aka Bob Dylan) in 1963, at the height of the Cold War, and while the world was still reeling from the horrors of World War Two, mankind's second unsuccessful attempt at suicide, as Kilgore Trout put it.

But when you have Islamic Militants shouting, Allah Ou Akhbar! (God is great!) as they hack off the head of a Red Cross worker, and Christian Militant George W. Bush on T.V. assuring the world that God is on his side as he drops bombs on women and children, then maybe - just maybe - it's time to dust off this old tune, and start shouting it from the rooftops.

In Response...

That last update to Our Place really could have been much longer and included many more if not all of the great wars and genocides in the world's history since the dawn of religion.

It doesn't matter whose side you are on and what god or gods you are talking about, but down to the smallest tribes of barbarians in Germania to the glory of the Holy Roman Empire, it was all done with God on "our" side.

A bunch of justifying bullshit if you ask me.

Adam

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The history books tell it; They tell it so well: The cavalries charged, The Indians fell. The cavalries charged, And the Indians died. Oh, the country was young, With God on its side.
	Then the Spanish-American War had its day. The Civil War too Was soon laid away. The names of the heros I was made to memorize, With guns in their hands, And God on their side.
The First World War, boys, Well, it came and it went. The reason for fighting I never did get. But I learned to accept it, Accept it with pride. For you don't count the dead When God's on your side.
	When the Second World War Came to an end, We forgave the Germans, And then we were friends. Though they murdered six million, In the ovens they fried, The Germans now too have God on their side.
I've learned to hate Russians All through my whole life. If another war comes, It's them we must fight. To hate them and fear them, To run and to hide, And accept it all bravely With God on our side.
	And now we have weapons Of a chemical dust. If fire them we're forced to, Then fire them we must. One push of the button, And a shot the world wide... But you never ask questions When God's on your side.
Through many a dark hour I've been thinking about this: That Jesus Christ Was betrayed by a kiss. Now, I can't think for you, You'll have to decide Whether Judas Iscariot Had God on his side.


HOME PAGE - Weekly map of the night sky, and current astronomical events.	OUR PLACE - Weekly article on things terrestrial.
SOLAR SYSTEM - All Things Held Captive By The Sun	KEEP MEXICAN SKIES FREE - Ways you can help...
CONSTELLATIONS - Everything Else In The Universe	MUSIC - "The food of love..." Original songs, and more...
PLANET WATCH - Weekly update of the planets in our sky.	GUITAR TUTORIAL - Learn the basics of playing the guitar.
E. T. WATCH - The scientific search for extraterrestrial life.	HIGHWAY 61 - An original novel about polar bears, suicide bombers, and God.
CLOSE ENCOUNTER WATCH - Comets and asteroids heading our way.	PHOTO GALLERY - A collection of original observatory photos.
SHUTTLE WATCH - The exploits of NASA's Space Shuttle.	HUMOUR GALLERY - A collection of humour from the web.
INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION - The latest news from the first Human home in space.	THE FRANK GALBRAITH LEGACY - The legacy of a Cariboo musician.
FREE ASTRONOMY SOFTWARE - The best things in life really are free.	THE MEXICAN SKIES OBSERVATORY - Santa Elena, Oaxaca, Mexico.
ASTROLOGY - Astronomy's Evil Twin?	MEXICAN SKIES ARCHIVES - Selected articles from previous years.