Tag Archives: war

Stephen King & the War for America’s Soul

By Robin Bates | Published: May 22, 2015

In “The Stand,” Stephen King sees the dark and the light fighting for control of America’s soul. His book had the Vietnam War in mind but it is also applicable to future policy in the Middle East.

Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged 9-11, Iraq War, Nathaniel Hawthorne, neoconservativism, Stand, Stephen King, Vietnam War, Young Goodman Brown | Comments closed

A “Greatest Generation” Vet Reflects

By Robin Bates | Published: May 9, 2015

In the reminiscence about his World War II experiences, my father finds it difficult to capture what it was really like

Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged Scott Bates, V.E. Day, Veterans, World War II | Comments closed

A Fantasy about U.S. Thirst for War

By Robin Bates | Published: April 7, 2015

Neil Gaiman’s “American Gods” understands the thirst of those Americans that want to go to war with Iran.

Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged American Gods, fantasy, Iran, Iraq War, It, Neil Gaiman, neoconservatives, nuclear negotiations, road novel, Stephen King, violence | Comments closed

Lear’s Lesson: Dividing Leads to War

By Robin Bates | Published: March 12, 2015

The politics in “King Lear” are currently being played out in attempts to sabotage negotiations with Iran.

Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged Barack Obama, Iran, King Lear, Tom Cotton, William Shakespeare | Comments closed

Is It Time to Bring Out Twain’s War Prayer?

By Robin Bates | Published: March 4, 2015

The GOP and Netanyahu are trying to sabotage Obama’s negotiations with Iran. Could Mark Twain’s “War Prayer” knock some sense into them?

Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged Barack Obama, Benjamin Netanyahu, Iran, Israel, John Boehner, Mark Twain, politics, War Prayer | Comments closed

Poetry Changed during World War I

By Robin Bates | Published: August 5, 2014

The horrors of World War I created some great poetry. But not in its early days.

Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged "Anthem for Doomed Youth", "Dulce et Decorum Est", "Futility", "Happy Is England Now", "I Have a Rendezvous with Death", "Soldier", "Strange Meeting", Soldiers, Wilfred Owen, World War I | Comments closed

My Father Moved through Dooms of War

By Robin Bates | Published: June 6, 2014

My father’s recollections of the D Day beaches influenced his poetry.

Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged "Greatest Generation", D Day, dementia, Normandy, Scott Bates, World War II | Comments closed

He Sleeps Less Cold Than We Who Wake

By Robin Bates | Published: May 26, 2014

Wilfred Owen’s “Asleep” looks with sorrow at the death of a comrade.

Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged "Asleep", anti-war poetry, death and dying, Memorial Day, Wilfred Owen | Comments closed

Speak Now for Peace

By Robin Bates | Published: September 6, 2013

Obama, take note: Vachel Lindsay in 1915 counseled against going to war even after the sinking of the Lusitania.

Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged "Two Poems written on the Singing of the Lusitania", American intervention, chemical weapons, Jane Addams, Leo Tolstoy, Syria, Vachel Lindsay | Comments closed