In an enormously wealthy
Nation, cruelty exists
As a pastime relished by
Malefactors with nothing
Better to do than
Step on another neck
To feel better about
Themselves for a moment
While deliriously rolling in
Stacks of money,
Reminding themselves and
Their accomplices how much
Better they are than
Those other people.
He cries when he
Hears the song because
It reminds him of
Who he used to be and
How much he’s changed.
I have the misfortune of
Watching a video of him
Giving a talk to an approving
Audience where he smugly
Suggests that there is
Nothing more to destroying a
Caring individual than to
Change the argument,
Cast the kind person as evil,
And then ride in to save
The day with shockingly
Simplistic and disingenuous
Schemes that hurt people.
A significant, sad number of
Individuals in the vastly
Wealthy nation declare
That providing health care
For all human beings is
Ridiculous, that the
Well-being of each person is
A privilege and not a right,
That the common good is but a
Quaint idea dreamed up by
Soft, delusional weirdos who
Don’t understand that all
That matters is helping the
Wealthy prosper while
Cheering perpetual war
And laughing at the poor.
Killing the arts,
Heavy-handed plot to
Silence dissent.
Stifle creativity,
Gag the rabble-rousing
Subversives.
Suppress contradictory
Voices challenging
Authority.
No one left to
Speak uncomfortable truths.
They have won, and lost.
Unwavering fealty to
The group, the greater
Good left behind in
Favor of a narrow agenda
Benefiting only a few
At the highest end of
The scale, preferential
Treatment for those who
Already enjoy all the perks,
Long rows of identical
Drones marching in formation,
Obliterating everything
In their path to
Satisfy a pathological
Compulsion for power.
It’s not that
They can’t help people,
It’s just that
They choose not to.
Inhumanity
Is simply the
Inability to
Move past fear.
We all do better
When we look out
For each other,
Courageously.
We are much better than
Allowing children to starve,
Condemning people to die from
Lack of affordable health care,
Cheering on a frontier-town
Code of conduct,
Relishing a total lack of empathy
For fellow citizens,
Delivering every break to
People who don’t need them,
Withholding opportunity from
Others deemed unworthy,
Shunning the vulnerable,
Tolerating hatred and bigotry,
Building a society that exalts
Cruelty as it staggers backward.
He’s never been called
A derogatory name because
Of what he looks like or
Where he was born.
The encroachment of these
Strangers makes him really
Uneasy, might have to
Move to another neighborhood.
Furious that they come in
And take away everything
That’s rightfully his,
The arrogance of privilege.
