Superfluous words of
Instruction, castigation,
Pompously meted out
By the comfortable.
Cavalier imposition
Of distorted morality,
Cruelty promulgated by
Lifeless husks.
An empty plate
Contemptuously
Dropped in front of
The starving.
He makes an offhand
Remark about someone’s race,
Not giving it much thought
And well in keeping with
The rest of his consistently
Intolerant outlook on many
Things, punctuated by a
Self-serving qualification
About how he accepts all people,
And how he’s so moderate,
Civilized, enlightened,
Completely unaware that
The only difference between
Him and the monsters
Is a matter of degree.
Everything is soft,
Kind, supportive, creative,
Encouraging, empathic
In this place,
No harsh words or
Injurious reprimands,
Judgments meted out with
No regard for easily
Bruised psyches.
It is here we dare
To be ourselves.
All their best brains
Get together: politicians,
Business leaders, pundits,
Economists.
Toiling long hours,
Propelling propaganda,
Presenting a
United front.
It takes all their
Concerted effort to
Find new ways to
Exploit people.
Gleefully retiring
For a well-deserved
Drink at the
Usual establishment.
Tell me about how
That symbol doesn’t
Mean the subjugation
By force of an entire
People, how it has
Nothing to do with
Base, ugly instincts,
A miserable lust to
Break another human being
In order to enrich oneself,
To stand atop the
Inert carcass of an
Animal freshly slain,
To compensate for a
Festering inadequacy.
He remembers sitting
In the living room
Absorbing the tireless
Rants of his father,
Most of his family and
Acquaintances, about those
People and what needed
To be done to them,
Interspersed with moments
Of unmitigated terror
Watching the hulking figure
Stumble toward him,
The hand striking his face
For no reason other than
Being in the vicinity,
The inescapable continuation
Of distorted tradition,
Words and blows creating
Impenetrable callouses.
He plays the part well,
The down-home, good old boy
You could sit down and
Have a beer with and maybe
Chat about how much you
All love the country and
Real people, not those
Miscreants on the coasts.
They vote him in and he
Immediately shows his
True stripes, it’s not
About taking care of the
Small-town guy, it’s about
Showering his wealthy buddies
With lavish gifts,
Taking care of number one.
When his followers start
Catching on a bit,
He simply puts on a hat
And boots and gives a
Patriotic/religious speech
Stressing the importance of
Family and community,
Strength, honor, deceit.
When all the
Money in the country
Goes to a very small
Group at the very top,
That leaves very little
To no resources for
Anyone else, because,
You know, just a few
People have all the
Money, sort of like in
The old game where
Someone would buy all
The properties and
Watch everyone pay rent
And slowly crumble,
Though none of this
Means much to Emily,
Playing on a filthy
Motel balcony.
Amongst the chaos and
Tumult, a refreshing
Ideology rears its head
Promising prosperity
For people of many
Persuasions, a shiny
Alternative, not the
Tired old stuff,
Assuring everyone that
Things will be okay and
Taken care of, unlike the
Mess the other guys have
Made, and insisting that
All the populace has to do
Is believe and unconditionally
Submit to the benevolent
Power of the free market.
