What is often
Overlooked,
Ignored,
Is that one can
Become amazingly
Wealthy without
Destroying people
Or the planet.
Arguing untenable
Positions,
Pretending that
Extremity is normality,
Criminality inconsequential.
Rationality is not a
Part of this conversation.
All that remains is a
Raw desire to
Crush the opposition,
Revel in power
Without regard for
Anyone, anything, anytime.
They fight vigorously for
Her right to attend
The school, blaming
Her shortcomings on the
Meager allowances made for
Human beings who have been
Methodically and mercilessly
Oppressed by people
Who see them as inferior
And strive to maintain the
Supremacy they’ve always
Enjoyed over them,
False struggle,
Unearned privilege.
Shocked,
But accompanied by
A now-familiar sense
Of resignation,
She pays her insurance
Premium, the one she
Was so happy about,
The one that was
Supposed to
Make her life easier,
The one that has gone
Up worrisomely in
Only one year,
Not subject to any
Controls, just like
Everything else she
Has to buy to live.
A barely charismatic buffoon
Captures the narrow
Imagination of malcontents
Who yearn for a return
To the good old days
When they could insult
Anyone they wanted to
And impose their will
On anyone who didn’t
Look like them.
Nationalistic cries
Generating an autonomic
Response of hatred and
Complete lack of hope.
He becomes livid when
Anyone dares question
His authority, unaccustomed
To being challenged for
Even the most reprehensible
Behavior toward those
He looks down upon or
Perhaps never had to think
About at all before they
Got all uppity and decided
To stand up to his cruelty.
A life lived without the
Need to apologize for
Any action, any slight
Uttered with absolute
Arrogance, impunity,
Vestiges of empire,
Purported rights.
You don’t know what
It’s like to be forced to
Be deferential, to
Constantly defuse situations
That could rapidly escalate
Just because someone
Knows he can overpower you,
To have to laugh at
Comments you loathe because
You don’t want things to
Go terribly wrong,
To keep your opinions
To yourself lest you
Bruise an overinflated ego,
To have to fend off
Unwanted advances
Every single day,
To have people sneer at you
When you speak up.
Stop for a moment and
Think back to a time
When we weren’t fighting,
When we agreed that
We liked each other and
That we were both
Human beings deserving of
Being treated with kindness
And compassion, when we didn’t
Vilify one another to
Appease some internal
Feeling of discomfort,
Some part of us unfinished
That we refuse to address.
I hear you’ve been
Dealing with some
Health problems lately.
Cheer up, I’ve got
A plan to get you
The help you need.
Forget all that confusing
Stuff about single-payer,
What I’m offering is
Vastly better.
Simply take all the
Extra money you have
From your $7.50-an-hour
Job and put it in
One of these magical
Accounts guaranteed to
Pay for almost nothing.
