He encounters a problem
And calls customer service.
Not again, a voice with
An accent on the other end.
He rages about the
Person trying to help him but not
About the company outsourcing jobs,
Paying some hapless human being
A quarter of what they
Would pay someone in
This country just to
Make a few people
That much richer.
Suffering the consequences of
A joyless worldview
That deems human beings worthless,
Expendable, disposable in order
To make a few people even richer
So they can feel superior
For barely a moment,
Someone’s else’s death
Meaning nothing,
The machine grinds on.
An insidious myth
That pervades both
Casual and supposedly
Expert conversation:
Both sides are the same,
A point of view easily
Debunked by even the
Most cursory of examinations,
The difference between
Cruelty and compassion.
Sarah reads her father
A story, just like
He did when she was a
Little girl. She kisses
Him on the forehead and
Wishes him a good night.
Quietly closing the door,
She wonders how they will
Pay for his medical bills.
They’ll welcome you
With a smile at
The coffee shop
On main street
As long as you
Follow the rules
And look normal.
Truth is treated as
Just another obstacle to
Total domination by
People so broken that
They believe no one
Notices their misdeeds.
Unrepentant psychopaths
Don’t care about fact,
Only their next conquest.
A handsome
Business person,
Impeccably dressed
And manicured,
Walks over to a
Homeless individual.
There are many choices
That can be made at
Times like these,
Each leading in
A particular
Direction.
He addresses
The tattered figure
Lying on the ground,
Telling him to
Quit being lazy
And get a job.
A sneering arrogance learned
On the lap of previous generations,
Surrounded by enablers cheering
As other human beings are
Reduced to objects of abuse
Gleefully spewed on them by
Whooping simpletons driven by
The ever-present fear that their
Actions will one day come back
To haunt them and fate will see
Them subjected to the same torment
If they don’t reign supreme.
They are encouraged to
Be virtuous in their
Service to their superiors,
It being vitally important
To know one’s place and
Dutifully cater to those
Above one’s station,
A self-perpetuating nightmare
If one finds oneself on
The wrong rung of the ladder.
Out of sight, out of luck,
A carefully orchestrated
Farce benefiting disparity.
