Reluctantly they’re forced to
Break character and acknowledge
That we’re all connected,
Not separated by malicious,
Misleading designations
Conceived to benefit the few
Rather than uplifting the many.
It won’t last, their entire
Worldview requires an enemy.
They’ve been wondering when
It would be them and it has
Finally occurred with a
Ferocity they could not
Imagine no matter how many of
Their friends told them
About it, the leveling of
Life, limb, love, in one
Deafening, punishing blow;
A child sits in an ambulance.
This wealthy country
Heeding its bleakest impulses,
Depriving its most
Vulnerable of basic dignity,
Massaging plutocrats while
Ignoring people dying
In gutters from entirely
Preventable causes,
A mighty nation rendered
Ordinary by disregarding
Its higher ideals,
An experiment teetering
On the brink of failure
While a few abscond
With the spoils.
It really just boils
Down to fear,
Having done what they did
To human beings
Just to make a buck or
Feel better about their
Own wretched lives.
They’re terrified of
The same thing being
Done to them, the
Fury of retribution.
Instead of atoning,
They pretend it didn’t happen,
Desperately struggling
To hold back
The searing inferno.
He looks straight
At the camera, all
Bravado and confidence,
And blathers on about
Some fake plan that will,
As usual, damage
Vulnerable people,
Definitely not help them,
His swagger finely honed by
Years of not having to
Think of others while
Enjoying the fruits of
Contemptible rapacity.
Unwilling to hear
Anything that doesn’t
Conform to their
Intransigent views,
A world full of fear,
Out to get them,
Deprive them of
The next victory
Over opponents who would
Make them lose control.
They’re trying to explain
Why we should care for one another
But this one guy sabotages
The conversation, forcefully
Interjecting unsubstantial,
Loud-mouthed carnival-barker-like
Falsehoods based on some strange
Utopian fantasy where
Giant corporations provide for
Everyone and human beings
Magically prosper in spite of
Massive obstacles and
Rampant selfishness;
What the guy never mentions is
His persistent fear that
One day he’ll lose everything,
Scarcity his calling card.
An attempt is made to
Acknowledge the atrocities
Committed against thousands
Upon thousands of innocent
Human beings brutally
Denied their freedom and
Exploited for financial gain,
And the only response from
The talking heads is to
Gloss over the torment by
Changing the subject to
Something completely unrelated.
There’s no epiphany here,
No emergence of conscience
Where they realize that
What they’re doing is
Unequivocally reprehensible,
Or that some kind of
Immediate change is imperative,
All that seems to matter is
Covering their tracks,
Concocting some ridiculous story,
Lying to protect each other
So they can continue doing
What they’ve always
Gotten away with.
