Soldier’s Ghost
“I bled for you – would you for me?
I blessed a skin in blazing fuel
Then took a bullet in a duel of
‘He or I to Die.’
I often question ‘Why? ‘
Do you?
My country was my life to give –
Would you for country cease to live?
Sinking in a mire of death,
You have no choice –
So while you’re still alive,
Rejoice!
I cried in failure – did you care?
And as I waned, were you aware of
What I did -?
Fighting for my country while you hid
Behind your comfort back at home?
Still relaxed?
My wife and child are fading at the tomb. ”
By,
Mark R Slaughter 2009
To become a soldier, one must have no fear of dying. A soldier dedicates his life and blood to his country and fellow fighters. Soldiers are leaders that have tremendous innate courage. You can not train or be taught how to be brave. In the movie Captain America, Steve Rogers is a frail young man who yearns to be in the military to fight during WWII. He was not suited as a strong man or soldier imagery, but his determination and courage made him stand out from all of them. When Steve was training in boot camp, his platoon was tested by their Sgt. The test was a fake grenade being thrown at them and seeing how the soldiers would react. All of them took cover and only cared about themselves, but Steve Rogers threw himself on top of the grenade and made sure everybody else would be safe. This made Rogers a great candidate to be an important soldiers, because he acted courageously without any doubt. The fact that this soldier, Steve Rogers, wanted to defend his country, dedicate his life to serving others and acting courageously.
Personally, I don’t think you can be taught courage. Every leader, or protagonist, has courage within that help them progress through the obstacle in the story. A guru doesn’t teach his students to be wise, they self realize when a time comes that they had the wisdom.
A soldier is a good definition for courage; “the ability to do something that you know is difficult or dangerous” (merriam-webster).
Words, Words, Words 