It’s clear that
All that is happening
In that predatory mind
Is a miserable plan
To curry favor,
Establish dominance.
The need to be loved,
While overlooking the
Unpleasant flaws of
Reality, paramount,
Only self-adulation
Featured on the menu.
Manipulating the limbs
Of cold mannequins,
Unfeeling eyes staring
Blankly, no connection
To actuality, only
Temporary gratification.
She conflates liberty
With fear, harshness,
Selfishness, tribalism;
A martial solution to
Every perceived problem,
Freedom meted at the
End of a weapon,
Without any deliberation,
Remorse.
Perpetrators posing as victims,
Misdirected scorn.
Gird the wagons,
The sky is surely falling
Today, tomorrow, always.
He knows exactly
Where they all are,
Ready to help him
When they show up,
He’s rehearsed it
Many times in his head,
A twitching crusader
For absolute order,
Pitifully unsafe in
The midst of all
His friends, the
Ones that don’t talk
Back, that make him
Feel more potent,
Briefly worthwhile,
Some kind of cowboy.
It is said that only twenty percent
Of people are able to change an
Undesirable behavior, even when
They experience severely negative or
Life-threatening consequences, and
Eighty percent will continue doing
The same thing until it consumes them,
Unable to change, emphatically
Assuring themselves that things are
Going much better than they are.
It starts imperceptibly –
Gains momentum –
Grows stronger –
Craves ever more power –
Eradicates the arts and intellectuals –
Mocks knowledge and reason –
Clouds the truth –
Creates chaos and disarray –
Imposes order by force –
Subjugates its own people –
Destroys its enemies –
Subverts democracy –
Stops at nothing.
She’s been unemployed
For two years
Since being laid off
From her long-time job.
On the news,
They keep crowing
About how much better
Things are.
She walks in the door
Of a temp agency
Where she’s greeted
Politely.
A young woman
Asks her to have a seat
At a long table and
Fill out an application.
When she’s done,
She’s told to wait for an
Additional screening
By another staff member.
She goes into a small
Room to take a variety
Of tests to determine
What she can do.
She’s told to call
Early each morning
To check for any jobs
That may be available.
Right or wrong,
Good or bad,
Us or them,
Have or have not.
A world of
Stark dualities
Inevitably creating
Winners and losers.
Some notice that
Imagination is
Missing from this
Severe equation:
The ability to
Envision a world
Where everyone
Is able to win.
If you had to
Come up with a
Highly effective, and
Fiendishly surreptitious,
Way to destroy
Democracy and make sure
All the money goes
To you and your
Affluent friends, you could,
I suppose, do it by force,
Which leaves a lot of
Bodies and resentment behind,
Or you could gradually
Starve public education,
Perhaps even siphon off
Its funding to other
So-called schools,
To make sure that
The general populace
Gradually, without noticing,
Loses its ability to
Think critically,
Discern what’s really
Happening around them, and
Separate fact from fiction.
The more you weaken
People’s ability to reason,
The sooner you can
Buy another yacht,
Plus you can
Sit back and have
A nice laugh as
People who have far
Less means than you
Passionately defend
What you’ve cleverly
Termed School Choice,
Freedom always sells.
Don’t worry ma’am,
It’s just a formality.
What was that?
Oh, yes, it’s a new
Policy, the bill just
Passed in the last
Session. I know,
It’s an inconvenience,
But it’s just the rules.
Everyone has to have
Some kind of identification
To vote. Oh no,
Not at all,
This is nothing like
Those days.
Will that be all?
Next.
