Dulce Et Decorum Est ....

Dulce et decorum est pro patria jactura


Or so they tell the soldier they send
into their “theatre of operation”,
Or to the police officer they equip
with riot shields and guns
Or to working man whose job
falls to austerity
Or to the disabled child whose support
dwindles as the bills rise
Or to the homeless woman whose shelter
is closed because of other priorities
Or to the broken family that grieve
after a case of mistaken identity

Sacrifice is necessary, they preach to the poor
the disposessed
the weak
the sick
the hungry

Dulce et decorum est pro patria jactura

As they have never said to the banker
who gambled away millions
Or to the politician who fiddled the books
to claim their ‘fair’ share of expenses
Or to the businessman who juggled his accounts
to avoid their ‘fair’ share of taxes
Or to the journalist who scooped
an exclusive from a murdered child’s phone
Or to Cabinet Minister who with the stroke of a pen
let the blood of his compatriots
Or to the General who with a word sent
the flower of our youth to their deaths

Sacrifice is never made by the elites
the ruling classes
the rich
the powerful
the deserving
So my friend, don’t believe them when they repeat the old lie:
Dulce et decorum est pro patria jactura
(It is sweet and honourable to sacrifice for one’s country)

Written with a large nod to the work of Wilfred Owen.  The lies of the powerful cost the lives of the populace, as true now as it ever was.