It’s just an entry-level gig
For teenagers looking to make
Money to buy clothes.
It’s not meant to be a
Full-time career or
Support a family.
It’s really just a way to
Get your foot in the door and
Later move up.
It would hurt companies too
Much if they paid more
Than they do.
A long, oppressive
Period of darkness
Ushers in a
New world order.
Social contract between
Corporations and people
Shredded, allowed to
Roam free, relentlessly
Preying on their victims.
No pretense of ethics or
Honesty remaining,
Salivating predation
The norm,
Fleece the herd and
Retire gleefully to
Baronial excess.
Eternal struggle between
Those who believe the
World is there solely for
Their own benefit
And others who think that
We’re all on this planet
Together, so why not
Try to help one another.
If history is any predictor,
Only one side prevails,
The unteachable nature of
Those who desperately crave
Self-aggrandizement at
The expense of all else
Being too deep-seated and
Aggressive an impulse.
Shining moments of hope
Arrive only to be quashed
By unswayable narcissists.
Enjoying an
Unconscious rush from
Imposing his will,
Making other people
Do what he wants,
Forcing them to believe
What he believes,
A reviving electric pulse
For a common poltroon.
Discount orator
Moralizing smugly about
Outmoded, discredited notions.
Uneasy face showing the toll of
Humanity replaced with contempt.
A daily trip to the office
Where more faulty decisions
Are to be made about
Innocent people’s lives.
Fortress built
One impenetrable,
Insurmountable block
At a time.
Walls several feet thick,
Impeding progress,
Natural tide held back
If only for a while.
Looking over their shoulders
At adversaries
Perpetually storming
The walls.
Afraid he’ll lose
His stuff, position,
Rank, privileges,
He concocts a vision of
An idyllic realm
Where every man
Fends for himself.
Survival of the fittest,
Each his own island,
The market shall provide.
Keep those leeches off
The dole, level the
Playing field to
Exclusionary perfection.
No need to cogitate about
The complexities of community,
Selfless caring for
Fellow human beings,
Just leave it to the
Marauding packs of
Feral creatures.
Countless felled by
Machines that cannot –
Will not – be stopped
By ravenous overlords.
The extraction of
The soul through
Bombast, pomp,
Promised happiness.
Unsympathetic ears
Only hear the
Clinking of metal
Upon shining metal.
No life is precious
In this universe of
Cold numbers,
Figures, subterfuge.
He candidly shares
His personal story
Of self-reliance,
Hard work, family values,
Community, (family money).
He wants to change the world by
Reducing the size of the government
And putting power back
Where it belongs:
In the hands of business.
He fires off specious statistics about
How poorly we’re doing and
How much things have declined,
Due to the reactionary policies
He emphatically champions.
His unflinching eyes betray
Not a hint of compassion,
The irony of the colossal joke
He’s animatedly urging people to
Believe in, again.
They say they believe
In self-reliance.
They gladly accept government
Help when they need it.
They vote for candidates
That destroy the services they use.
They present themselves as caring and
Support marginalizing others.
They claim to be patriots
While destroying fellow citizens.
Their lack of internal soundness
Creates suffering for millions.
Without the slightest sense of irony,
They unravel the fabric of society.
