‘What if they gave a war and no one came’

By Frank Mariani

The quote that inspired the quote

It started with a book of Carl Sandburg’s poems.

SOURCE: Respectfully Quoted

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The inspired quote

In the 1960s, pushback against the Vietnam War prompted several variations on Sandburg’s words as anti-war slogans that appeared on posters, in print, and in songs.

The version that became most common was “Suppose they gave a war and nobody came”, the title of writer/poet Charlotte E. Keyes’ essay in the October 1966 issue of McCall’s magazine.

The piece was a significant cultural touchstone of the Vietnam War era. It provided a mother’s perspective on her son’s conscientious objection and helped transform a misquoted line by Carl Sandburg into a famous anti-war slogan.

♬ It’s Donald’s party and he’ll cry if he wants to ♫

I’m not talking about that kind of party—the Republican Party—even though that’s an avenue worthy of discussion. The party invitation in my cartoon is the slop fest of a military affair against Iran, highlighted by poor planning and hasty invitations to join the fun. For the replies, I’m imagining Charlie Brown looking for valentines in an empty mailbox. I’m hearing the sound of crickets at night, instead of “I’ll be there!”

But Donald shouldn’t fret. Hearty partiers Pete Hegseth (a.k.a. Pete KEGseth), the United States Secretary of War, and FBI Director Kash “I LOVE HOCKEY” Patel are the only people he needs to attend.

Oh, and they can jointly bring the USS Defiant (BBG-1), the flagship of Trump’s Golden Fleet. How’s that maritime battlewagon coming along?