"The White Man's Burden" - Our National Burden

Today, my father loaned me his copy of the complete poetic works of Rudyard Kipling. He also flagged a number of pieces for me to read. One of them was "The White Man's Burden." As I was reading it, even though it was written in 1899, a number of much more modern images flashed through my head. I thought that I might indulge to share what I saw, as best I can.

"The White Man's Burden"

Take up the White Man's burden-


  Send forth the best ye breed-
Go bind your sons to exile-


  To serve your captives' need;
To wait in heavy harness
  On fluttered folk and wild-
Your new-caught, sullen peoples,


  Half devil and half child.

Take up the White Man's burden-


  In patience to abide,
To veil the threat of terror


  And check the show of pride;
By open speech and simple,


  An hundred times made plain.


To seek another's profit,


  And work another's gain.

Take up the White Man's burden-


  The savage wars of peace-


Fill full the mouth of Famine


And bid the sickness cease;
And when your goal is nearest


  The end for others sought,


Watch Sloth and heathen Folly
  Bring all your hope to nought.

Take up the White Man's burden-


  No tawdry rule of kings,
But toil of serf and sweeper-


  The tale of common things.
The ports ye shall not enter,
  The roads ye shall not tread,


Go make them with your living,


  And mark them with your dead!

Take up the White Man's burden-


  And reap his old reward:


The blame of those ye better,


  The hate of those ye guard-
The cry of hosts ye humour
  (Ah, slowly!) toward the light:-
"Why brought ye us from bondage,
  "Our loved Egyptian night?"

Take up the White Man's burden-


  Ye dare not stoop to less-
Nor call too loud on Freedom
  To cloak your weariness;
But all ye cry and whisper,
  But all ye leave and do,
The silent, sullen peoples
  Shall weigh your Gods and you.

Take up the White Man's burden-
  Have done with childish days-
The lightly proffered laurel,
  The easy ungrudged praise.
Comes now, to search your manhood
  Through all the thankless years,
Cold-edged with dear-bought wisdom,


  The judgement of your peers!

After having read through the poem, I came to the conclusion that the only thing that has really changed since it was written is that the White Man's burden became America's collective burden, as evidenced by the last photo. Black, white, red, brown or whatever you might be, the burden of being American will also fall to thee.

It is our national burden.