Pay No Danegeld: Teaching Western Civilization (Rudyard Kipling's poem is due for a renaissance.)

Pajamas Media ^ | April 11, 2011 | Clayton E. Cramer

[Kaslin]

Why do most colleges require students to take a semester (sometimes two) of Western civilization? We want students to know about the history of our civilization because, amazingly enough, humans keep making the same stupid mistakes. The historian’s hope — well, at least this historian’s hope — is that students will recognize the stupidity of first century BC Rome, and fourth century BC Greece, and Weimar Republic Germany, and about nine zillion other moments in time — and not do it again! It’s probably a hopeless task, but I try.

But there is another reason as well. The West has a rich heritage of faith and reason that we want our students to understand. There are so many historical and cultural references contained in our books and literature that will be utterly mystifying if you do not know from whence they came. My students (well, most of them) now know why “Spartan” as an adjective refers to very primitive or basic services or provisions. They know what “crossing the Rubicon” means — and whose crossing of that river meant that “the die is cast.” They understand the importance of channelization in warfare, because of how the Greeks used it to defeat the Persians at Marathon, Thermopylae, and Salamis. They know why “Praetorian Guard” often means someone who is as much in charge as the person or institution that they are supposed to be protecting.

A recent week was devoted to a discussion of the conflict between centralization and localism in the medieval period. King Alfred the Great, the Danish invasion of England, and Afred’s efforts to drive the Danes out of the land inevitably led to a discussion of the Danegeld. The Danegeld was the tribute that the Danes required of the English to avoid further depredations — and England’s decision to no longer pay the Danegeld is part of the war that drives the Danes out.

During the cultural connection part of the class, I pulled out Rudyard Kipling’s 1911 poem called “The Dane-geld.” Shortly after 9/11, throughout the Western world, this marvelous poem was briefly in vogue again — until it became fashionable to hate and fear George Bush more than Osama bin Laden. I had thought of reading the poem myself, but decided to look for a dramatic reading instead.

After a little digging around, I found someone reading it, all right. It was not a particularly dramatic reading. But it was who read it, and where, and when that grabbed my attention quite powerfully.

Yes, it was President Ronald Reagan reading the poem at a meeting of the National Security Planning Group in 1985, when we were confronting a terrorist hijacking problem in the Middle East. (As Mark Twain observed, “History never repeats itself, but at least it rhymes.”) It is unfortunate that Reagan’s legacy of “No Danegeld” will always be tarnished by the Iran-Contra affair. (Strictly speaking, this was not paying Danegeld — but it certainly is not the muscular response that Kipling’s poem brings to mind, is it?) Nonetheless, in the larger scheme of twentieth century history, Reagan’s willingness to stand firm against the Soviet Union, and bluff them with SDI into bankruptcy, is a powerful reminder of what Kipling meant when he ended that poem:

“We never pay any-one Dane-geld,

No matter how trifling the cost;

For the end of that game is oppression and shame,

And the nation that pays it is lost!”

[Travis McGee]

AKA “Millions for defense, not one penny for tribute.”
TJ

[JoeFromSidney]

Kipling got a lot of things right. His poem THE GODS OF THE COPYBOOK HEADINGS is very pertinent to our time, as well. It, too, should be included in a Western Civ course.

[Maverick68]

b

[allmendream]

The problem with paying the Dane-geld is that it doesn't get rid of the Dane (and now he has your money).

[T-Bird45]

As usual, a great article/post. While I applaud Clayton Cramer’s dedication to his task of teaching Western Civ to young skulls full of mush, there are certainly some Western Civ references that apply to Cramer’s endeavor. The most apt come from mythology in the form of Sisyphus rolling the stone up the mountain for eternity and one of Hercules’ tasks, the cleaning of the Augean stables. At least there is some hope in that Hercules was successful in his task while Sisyphus was condemned to his labor for eternity.

[Palter]

"

When you're wounded and left on Afghanistan's plains,

And the women come out to cut up what remains,

Jest roll to your rifle and blow out your brains

An' go to your Gawd like a soldier.

Go, go, go like a soldier,

Go, go, go like a soldier,

Go, go, go like a soldier,

So-oldier ~of~ the Queen!

"

[AndyJackson]

For the end of that game is oppression and shame,And the nation that pays it is lost!”

This pretty much explains where we have got to with a legla system where you pay to settle rather than risk your fortunes to a judiciary who won't follow the laws.

[Pollster1]

From:http://jeffersonian.therealgunguys.com/danegeld.html

Danegeld, by Rudyard Kipling

IT IS always a temptation to an armed and agile nation,
To call upon a neighbour and to say:
“We invaded you last night - we are quite prepared to fight,
Unless you pay us cash to go away.”

And that is called asking for Dane-geld,
And the people who ask it explain
That you’ve only to pay ’em the Dane-geld
And then you’ll get rid of the Dane!

It is always a temptation to a rich and lazy nation,
To puff and look important and to say:
“Though we know we should defeat you, we have not the time to meet you.
We will therefore pay you cash to go away.”

And that is called paying the Dane-geld;
But we’ve proved it again and again,
That if once you have paid him the Dane-geld
You never get rid of the Dane.

It is wrong to put temptation in the path of any nation,
For fear they should succumb and go astray,
So when you are requested to pay up or be molested,
You will find it better policy to say:

“We never pay any one Dane-geld,
No matter how trifling the cost,
For the end of that game is oppression and shame,
And the nation that plays it is lost!

[Pollster1]

Pretty much, when someone says “we’re so hypersensitive that we’ll behead dozens if you burn our book”, it’s time to give that person no respect and no consideration, rather than to find out how much you have to defer before they’ll be happy and act civilized. We need to bomb all terrorist camps; attack all pirates, sinking or recapturing all ships and killing all pirates; and retake the streets and the night in every American and European city. Also, we must legalize open or concealed carry nationwide, seal our borders to keep illegals out, and restore a limited government but one that enforces those laws that are worth having.