Innocent people die
Because business
Executives desire
The extra money to
Build giant
Swimming pools in
The desert.
Human beings live,
Thrive, enjoy life,
Because the business
Executives care
For something
More than
Personal gain.
Culture of violence:
Shots ring out with no one
Courageous enough to
Do something about it,
Even when children die.
Culture of violence:
Women systematically
Put down, controlled,
Pumping out babies for
Some dominant reactionary.
Culture of violence:
Children hit for not
Following draconian,
Arbitrary rules imposed
By broken parents.
Culture of violence:
Innocent people killed
For nothing else than
The color of their skin
And someone’s insecurity.
Culture of violence:
Marginalizing and ostracizing
Human beings who don’t
Look or sound like
The herd.
Culture of violence:
Having their rights denied
Because of whom they love,
Being made to feel
Less than others.
Culture of violence:
People in power shaping
The rules to benefit
Only them, relegating
Others to deprivation.
Culture of violence:
Permanent war ripping
Apart bodies, psyches,
Families, the fabric
Of civilized society.
Culture of violence:
Shaping discourse to fit
A narrative of hate
And fear instead of
Hope, kindness, peace.
It’s been too long
Since Dad had a job
Though he dutifully looks
For one; Mom hasn’t had
Any luck either.
They make enough money
To fall behind, at
So-called entry level
Jobs for teens
That are actually
The only source of income
For large segments of
The population, honest
Hard-working people who
Were not born into the
Right family or happened
To be at the right place
At the right time or
Were willing to profit
At the expense of others.
It’s hard to determine
The exact moment when
He lost his sense of hope,
Decided that all that
Mattered was hoarding
As much wealth and power
As possible, building a moat
Around his fragile psyche,
His immediate needs
Superseding everyone else’s.
All that seemed to matter
Was keeping himself and
His own safe at all costs and
With absolutely no consideration
For anyone else, especially
Those he perceives as the enemy.
Every single person
Matters.
No one is more
Important or valuable.
Each human being
Has a unique set of gifts.
We all deserve to be
Treated with kindness.
Everyone can shine
If allowed to.
We don’t have to compete
Against one another.
We’re all in this
Together.
A humdrum bureaucrat
Sitting behind a nondescript
Desk in a characterless room,
Mechanically filling out
Form after form, as he was
Told to do by somebody,
It doesn’t matter who.
All just numbers, inert objects
To be shuffled around,
Statistics filling page
After page after page.
He takes a sip of coffee,
Picks up the phone to call
His wife about dinner.
Misdirected rage,
Flawed grave reasoning,
Flailing against imaginary
Monsters under beds.
A shift in perspective,
Assumptions upturned,
Unfamiliar changes underway,
Movement misunderstood.
An urge to maintain order,
Preserve pervasive power,
Vehemently opposing kindness,
Collective advancement.
They understand the
Galvanizing power of
Perceived peril and
Are more than happy
To invoke the existential
Threat of the day to
Keep people in a heightened
State of alert, unable to
Think about anything but
The imminent danger they
Face as their pockets
Are expertly picked.
