Everything is soft,
Kind, supportive, creative,
Encouraging, empathic
In this place,
No harsh words or
Injurious reprimands,
Judgments meted out with
No regard for easily
Bruised psyches.
It is here we dare
To be ourselves.
All their best brains
Get together: politicians,
Business leaders, pundits,
Economists.
Toiling long hours,
Propelling propaganda,
Presenting a
United front.
It takes all their
Concerted effort to
Find new ways to
Exploit people.
Gleefully retiring
For a well-deserved
Drink at the
Usual establishment.
I don’t know how many
Ways I can say this.
A blank look,
Devoid of any understanding.
We’ve gone over this
A million times.
Another imperceptive retort,
Deflecting truth.
I can’t make someone see
What they won’t.
Silence.
Distance.
Tell me about how
That symbol doesn’t
Mean the subjugation
By force of an entire
People, how it has
Nothing to do with
Base, ugly instincts,
A miserable lust to
Break another human being
In order to enrich oneself,
To stand atop the
Inert carcass of an
Animal freshly slain,
To compensate for a
Festering inadequacy.
He sits down and
Immediately opens his
Huge mouth and says
Something ridiculously
Offensive about someone
He’s never met or
Something he knows
Absolutely nothing about,
A smug smile covering
His ordinary face,
Not an ounce of insight
Clouds his horizon.
He remembers sitting
In the living room
Absorbing the tireless
Rants of his father,
Most of his family and
Acquaintances, about those
People and what needed
To be done to them,
Interspersed with moments
Of unmitigated terror
Watching the hulking figure
Stumble toward him,
The hand striking his face
For no reason other than
Being in the vicinity,
The inescapable continuation
Of distorted tradition,
Words and blows creating
Impenetrable callouses.
A stupefying world of
Tepid vanilla,
Drones marching in
Unison to the call of
Conformity, each one
The same as the last,
Quick-drying cement
Encasing creativity,
Voices muffled,
Flowers trampled.
I remember when I
Used to be someone else,
When I would do anything
Just to get along,
Stifle my voice so others
Could trample on me,
Pretend I was less smart
Than I really was,
Impersonate someone who
Was less capable than them,
Stroke their egos so they
Could feel stronger,
Let them tell me what
Was best for me or how
Things should be done.
He plays the part well,
The down-home, good old boy
You could sit down and
Have a beer with and maybe
Chat about how much you
All love the country and
Real people, not those
Miscreants on the coasts.
They vote him in and he
Immediately shows his
True stripes, it’s not
About taking care of the
Small-town guy, it’s about
Showering his wealthy buddies
With lavish gifts,
Taking care of number one.
When his followers start
Catching on a bit,
He simply puts on a hat
And boots and gives a
Patriotic/religious speech
Stressing the importance of
Family and community,
Strength, honor, deceit.
