Government isn’t some
Scary monster out to
Eat you and your children,
It’s merely a reflection
Of its citizens’ priorities.
We can decide that
Altruism is important
In a civilized society,
Or that we are
Just snarling creatures
Fighting each other
For survival,
Guarding our dens.
As she’s being driven
To her friend’s house
For a pool party, she
Notices the homes where
The regular people live,
Home-made affairs of
Brick and mortar and
Metal doors opening
Onto streets teeming
With cars, people, and dust;
She wonders passingly
About how they
Can all live jammed into
Such cramped abodes.
Passing the shanties,
She has a fleeting sense
Of children growing up
Under corrugated tin roofs
With no running water.
Sure, it takes effort
To be kind: You have to
Be able to transcend
Your own immediate needs,
Put yourself in
Someone else’s shoes,
Value another person
Who isn’t you,
Let yourself be vulnerable
To the possibility that
They may not reciprocate,
Consciously create
A world where
Compassion is the norm.
They screech and howl
When the people they
Don’t deem fit get any
Kind of help from the
Government, while
Conveniently looking
The other way when
They or someone they
Approve of receives
The same assistance.
He sits on his comfortable couch
In his comfortable house
Comfortably talking about
How uncomfortable it makes him
When one of those homeless
Lowlifes walks down his street
And how he’s going to
Do something about it someday.
At the end of another
Day on the picket line,
Shouting herself hoarse,
Enduring taunts from
Constricted, angry faces,
Walking miles so that
Others might not have to
Do the same, toiling on
Behalf of the less fortunate
Who have no voice,
She puts her coat in the closet,
Throws on some comfortable
Clothes and lies down
On the couch, quickly
Dozing off to dream
Of fewer battles.
Dreams overlooked,
A mocking laugh bids
Possibility goodbye while
In another corner of the
Planet someone understands
That we all do much better
When we take care of
Each other and the fragile
Place we all inhabit.
Destroying a nation
To satisfy unacknowledged,
Unmet needs, a petty
Tyrant imposing his
Frivolous whims on a
Tired, anxious populace
Whose only role
In the farce is a grim,
Resigned obedience under
The threat of violence.
Of course their first
Target is art and the
Humanities, you wouldn’t
Want to have any agitators
Out there who can think
For themselves and question
Authority, you require
Compliant people who will
Take to their pitchforks
To fight for the same
Shady characters who
Gleefully oppress them.
