We have the
Ability and the
Means to solve
Any social problem
In the world,
We just lack
The will,
Or perhaps it
Should be said,
The same people
In high places
Keep it from
Happening.
High school online,
The popular kids
Preening and primping,
Everyone else trying
To be like them even though
None of it matters.
People left out, made fun of.
Pretending meaningless relationships
Mean something.
She leaves, inviting everyone
To contact her directly,
No one does.
None of them
Have any interest
In helping the
Less fortunate,
Although a couple
Of them talk
A good game to
Give their cronies
The cover they
Need to do
Heinous things.
Perhaps he means well,
But it’s these kinds of
Stunted feelings,
Maudlin displays of
Melodramatic puerility,
That presage much more
Serious repercussions in
Situations requiring
Deeper insight.
He has a high tolerance
For the suffering of others,
Doesn’t seem to mind any
Kind of imbalance between
People, unless he’s on
The losing side of it,
But as long as it’s about
Some other person or group,
He couldn’t care less.
Preferring to have the
Whole world go up in flames
Than to admit wrongdoing,
Disturbingly fragile ego.
People don’t matter,
Only self-preservation,
Maintaining implausible
Illusion of invincibility.
Requiring constant attention,
Craving supremacy,
Staggering insecurity
Consuming everything.
The most eloquent
Argument, based on
Critical thinking,
Empirical evidence,
Objective reality,
Reason,
Is no match for his
Emotionally-driven
(Fear-motivated to be specific)
Vituperations on pretty much
Any topic he decides
To inflexibly defend.
She tries to have an earnest
Conversation with a relative
About why war is necessary
When there are so many other
Peaceful options available.
She shares her perspective that,
Along with the desire to
Destroy one another,
Humans possess an equal or greater
Capacity for altruism and love.
Appealing to his sense of decency,
Which she’s seen many times,
She plaintively beseeches him to
Clarify why he thinks problems
Need to be solved with violence.
No answers are forthcoming,
She finds out these things aren’t
About logic or fact,
Just a reflection of the
Torment in people’s hearts.
She had a hard time understanding
Where his cruelty came from,
Until she met his family:
An ominous group of harsh
Belittlers who extolled the
Virtues of survival of the fittest,
Mercilessly putting each other down
To prove who was king,
Roughhousing and competition
Behavioral staples – requirements,
Women shown their place in the kitchen,
Encouraged to keep quiet
About important stuff,
Attitudes formed through
Severe indoctrination –
Ubiquitous punishment.
Sure, there was some perfunctory
Level of compassion for people
They knew personally, offset by
A scorching empathy desert
For anyone they considered other,
Which meant pretty much everyone,
Especially foreigners,
Freeloaders and softies.
That’s why she bid him goodbye,
A person of her nature could
Only take so much horror.
