Alan Seeger
You have the grit and the guts, I know;
You are ready to answer blow for blow
You are virile, combative, stubborn, hard,
But your honor ends with your own back-yard;
Each man intent on his private goal,
You have no feeling for the whole;
What singly none would tolerate
You let unpunished hit the state,
Unmindful that each man must share
The stain he lets his country wear,
And (what no traveller ignores)
That her good name is often yours.
You are proud in the pride that feels its might;
From your imaginary height
Men of another race or hue
Are men of a lesser breed to you:
The neighbor at your southern gate
You treat with the scorn that has bred his hate.
To lend a spice to your disrespect
You call him the “greaser”. But reflect!
The greaser has spat on you more than once;
He has handed you multiple affronts;
He has robbed you, banished you, burned and killed;
He has gone untrounced for the blood he spilled;
He has jeering used for his bootblack’s rag
The stars and stripes of the gringo’s flag;
And you, in the depths of your easy-chair —
What did you do, what did you care?
Did you find the season too cold and damp
To change the counter for the camp?
Were you frightened by fevers in Mexico?
I can’t imagine, but this I know —
You are impassioned vastly more
By the news of the daily baseball score
Than to hear that a dozen countrymen
Have perished somewhere in Darien,
That greasers have taken their innocent lives
And robbed their holdings and raped their wives.
Not by rough tongues and ready fists
Can you hope to jilt in the modern lists.
The armies of a littler folk
Shall pass you under the victor’s yoke,
Sobeit a nation that trains her sons
To ride their horses and point their guns —
Sobeit a people that comprehends
The limit where private pleasure ends
And where their public dues begin,
A people made strong by discipline
Who are willing to give — what you’ve no mind to —
And understand — what you are blind to —
The things that the individual
Must sacrifice for the good of all.
You have a leader who knows — the man
Most fit to be called American,
A prophet that once in generations
Is given to point to erring nations
Brighter ideals toward which to press
And lead them out of the wilderness.
Will you turn your back on him once again?
Will you give the tiller once more to men
Who have made your country the laughing-stock
For the older peoples to scorn and mock,
Who would make you servile, despised, and weak,
A country that turns the other cheek,
Who care not how bravely your flag may float,
Who answer an insult with a note,
Whose way is the easy way in all,
And, seeing that polished arms appal
Their marrow of milk-fed pacifist,
Would tell you menace does not exist?
Are these, in the world’s great parliament,
The men you would choose to represent
Your honor, your manhood, and your pride,
And the virtues your fathers dignified?
Oh, bury them deeper than the sea
In universal obloquy;
Forget the ground where they lie, or write
For epitaph: “Too proud to fight.”
I have been too long from my country’s shores
To reckon what state of mind is yours,
But as for myself I know right well
I would go through fire and shot and shell
And face new perils and make my bed
In new privations, if ROOSEVELT led;
But I have given my heart and hand
To serve, in serving another land,
Ideals kept bright that with you are dim;
Here men can thrill to their country’s hymn,
For the passion that wells in the Marseillaise
Is the same that fires the French these days,
And, when the flag that they love goes by,
With swelling bosom and moistened eye
They can look, for they know that it floats there still
By the might of their hands and the strength of their will,
And through perils countless and trials unknown
Its honor each man has made his own.
They wanted the war no more than you,
But they saw how the certain menace grew,
And they gave two years of their youth or three
The more to insure their liberty
When the wrath of rifles and pennoned spears
Should roll like a flood on their wrecked frontiers.
They wanted the war no more than you,
But when the dreadful summons blew
And the time to settle the quarrel came
They sprang to their guns, each man was game;
And mark if they fight not to the last
For their hearths, their altars, and their past:
Yea, fight till their veins have been bled dry
For love of the country that WILL not die.
O friends, in your fortunate present ease
(Yet faced by the self-same facts as these),
If you would see how a race can soar
That has no love, but no fear, of war,
How each can turn from his private role
That all may act as a perfect whole,
How men can live up to the place they claim
And a nation, jealous of its good name,
Be true to its proud inheritance,
Oh, look over here and learn from FRANCE!
© by owner. provided at no charge for educational purposes
You may find this and other poems here.
Analysis (AI Assisted)
This poem reflects the frustration and disillusionment of a speaker who contrasts the pride and apathy of a presumably the United States, with the unity, sacrifice, and resolve exhibited by another, particularly France. The speaker speaks with both a sharp sense of judgment and a yearning for a more honorable and unified national identity, pointing out the gap between the ideal of national duty and the self-serving, individualistic reality that seems to prevail in the country under scrutiny.
The speaker sets the tone right away with a direct address: “You have the grit and the guts, I know; / You are ready to answer blow for blow.” The “you” in the poem is the unnamed nation, praised at first for its fighting spirit and toughness. However, the praise quickly turns to criticism as the speaker reveals that the nation’s sense of honor is shallow and self-interested. The image of virility and strength — “virile, combative, stubborn, hard” — is undercut by the realization that this toughness stops at the personal, the “own back-yard.” The speaker contends that the nation’s pride is insular and blind to the larger, global responsibility that its power demands.
The poem’s focus on nationalism and individualism explores the consequences of a lack of empathy and a broader sense of duty. The line “What singly none would tolerate / You let unpunished hit the state,” highlights how the country’s disregard for collective responsibility leads to moral and ethical failings on the global stage. It critiques the idea that actions, no matter how dishonorable or harmful to others, are often ignored or excused in favor of personal comfort or national pride. The speaker is particularly critical of how the country “has no feeling for the whole,” a reflection of the self-centered attitude that undermines both national integrity and international solidarity.
There is a striking example of this hypocrisy in the description of how the nation treats its neighbors. The term “greaser,” a derogatory slur aimed at Mexican people, is used here as a symbol of the arrogance and racial prejudice prevalent within the nation. The speaker asks, “What did you do, what did you care?” when the country’s actions and inaction lead to violence and injustice at the hands of those labeled as “greasers.” This question challenges the complacency of those who enjoy the comforts of privilege while others suffer in the peripheries of global conflict. The speaker implicitly critiques the moral dissonance in the country’s attitude toward its own wrongdoings and its lack of action in the face of aggression.
The final section of the poem turns toward a call to action, advocating for a stronger sense of discipline, unity, and sacrifice, all qualities that the speaker believes have been neglected in the nation. The speaker lauds nations that are willing to set aside private interests for the good of the whole, a sentiment captured in the line, “A people made strong by discipline / Who are willing to give — what you’ve no mind to.” This reflects the ideal of national strength that comes not from military might alone, but from the collective will to act in solidarity and self-sacrifice.
The poem is especially critical of leadership. The speaker draws a comparison between the country’s current leadership and a potential leader, Roosevelt, who, in the speaker’s view, would represent the ideals of true national strength and honor. This part of the poem reveals the speaker’s deep frustration with what they see as weak, cowardly, or misguided leadership, contrasting it with the courageous leadership that they believe the nation should be pursuing.
The speaker’s admiration for France and its national resolve becomes more evident in the final stanzas. By contrasting the complacency and self-interest of the unnamed nation with the sacrifice and unity of France, the speaker calls for the reader to learn from the French example. The French are depicted as having the courage and strength to face down their adversities, despite the personal cost, for the sake of their country. The French citizen, though no more eager for war than anyone else, is portrayed as someone who rises to the occasion, ready to fight for “hearths, altars, and past,” and “for love of the country that WILL not die.”
The repeated reference to France at the end of the poem, culminating in the line “Oh, look over here and learn from FRANCE!” reinforces the speaker’s point: true national strength lies not just in military might but in the collective willingness to sacrifice for the common good, to protect one’s country, and to maintain its honor. The imagery of the Marseillaise, the French national anthem, and the metaphor of France as a model of honor and unity suggest that the speaker views the French commitment to their country and its ideals as something to be admired and emulated.
Ultimately, this poem is a critique of nationalism that is disconnected from collective responsibility, urging the nation to reorient itself toward ideals of unity, sacrifice, and honor. The speaker’s disappointment is evident throughout, but the poem closes with a call for reflection and change, offering the example of France as both a contrast and a guide. The emotional weight of the poem is not just in its critique of the nation’s failings but also in its deep hope that, through introspection and a sense of shared duty, the country can rise above its individualistic tendencies and live up to the ideals it professes.