In service to
The masters,
A skewed scheme
Is introduced where
Those who can pay
Get faster service
Than those who can’t.
A divided highway
Favoring the Bentley
Over basic transportation,
A notion sprung from
Minds that have
No consideration
For equality.
A limited amount of
Everything for everyone.
A few people seize most of it,
The rest don’t.
Sharing is not a virtue
In the realm of self-interest.
Engorged with blood,
Plutocrats nap comfortably.
Things are great when you
Possess virtually everything.
Unappetizing crumbs for
Everyone else.
He’s concocted a story about
Being passed up for
A promotion due to some kind of
Supposedly unfair quota.
Diseased ego deflated —
Hurt feelings —
Perceived loss of face.
Rather than bounce back,
He takes it as a personal slight and
Mounts an ever-growing campaign of
Vitriolic vituperations and
Dramatic diatribes against his
Alleged oppressor,
Ignorant privilege flailing.
He affirms that he’ll never stop
Taking action against the
Nefarious system that bestowed
The spoils upon someone else.
Given the opportunity to
Change the course of world history,
He takes small caterpillar bites,
Leaving hole-riddled leaves
Unable to sustain themselves or
The tree they live on.
One small taste provokes another.
A vulnerable organism succumbs,
Rapacious parasite feasting on
Weakened frame.
He stands satisfied,
Planning the next insult.
Countless years of
Doing the same thing
Distilled into this single
Moment where courage and
Valor might rise and transform
The course of history
To benefit all rather than some.
Pause and reflect on the
Import of the situation, the
Immense weight of gravity.
Proceed with absolute
Confidence and do
The small thing.
Corrosive obsession with
Maximizing profits.
Feverishly channeling
Rivers of money to
Investors –
Private equity firms –
Executive bonuses,
Rather than
Supporting employees
Who will then have money
To spend and help
The economy prosper,
Or provide value to
Consumers who will be
More loyal and make the
Company more successful.
Scream communism when
The words fairness or
Sharing are mentioned,
Though they aren’t
Political terms,
Just basic civility,
Treating hard-working
People with respect and
Giving customers an
Honest deal.
Perhaps they don’t understand,
Or consciously refuse to,
That it doesn’t have to
Be this way.
Pillaging, plundering,
Plunging people into destitution.
A woeful, sustained onslaught,
Taking advantage of others
For profit.
Maybe they don’t realize
That there are any number of
Reasonable alternatives.
Collaboration, caring, empathy,
Leading to success, wealth,
For everyone.
Unthinkable. A philosophy based on
Mutual support, encouragement.
Brighter, more hopeful, possible.
Coarse mob
Defiantly protesting
A government that
Provides for that right.
Misdirected anger,
Misplaced allegiance to
Abstract concepts
Rooted in fear – mistrust,
Generational wounds.
Unchecked rugged individualism,
Freedom to antagonize –
Contorted civil disobedience,
Clutching discredited ideas
Perpetuating imparity.
Insidious double-talk,
Confuse the rubes,
Tell them one thing,
Deliver another.
Mal-intentioned misdirection,
Disseminate falsehoods,
Chuckle heartily when
They fall for it.
Take advantage of access to
Information and power,
Surreptitiously shift
The conversation.
Continually erode
Vital pillars,
Remorselessly hinder
Progress.
