Bruised during the most
Important formative years,
She grew up to crave power,
Dominance, control over others.
Routinely battered
Throughout her upbringing,
She flowered into a beautiful
Champion of the meek.
So this is
What we’ve become,
Or have always been
But hid for a while,
A land where
It’s acceptable
To put people down
Because you’re
Scared of change or
Anything that’s different,
A place where
The crushing weight of
Authority imposes
Its will and is welcomed
By far too many.
It’s far easier to
Say that those living in
Poverty are somehow
Flawed, lazy, deserving
Of their plight, than
To look at oneself
And acknowledge that it’s
One’s own beliefs,
Actions, values,
Contrived moral outrage,
That perpetuate a
System that keeps people
Right where they are.
Only one point of view
Is respectable,
The moment ripe for
Grotesquely inadequate and
Malformed perceptions to
Populate well-meaning minds
Reacting from a place of
Pain and fear
Never admitted.
Maintain the momentum,
Eradicate dissenting utterances,
Sweep them under the rug as
Bothersome, trifling dust.
A new day arrives brandishing
A glinting sword, the
Contracted face of
Judgment unmistakable,
Zeal palpable.
As we’ve seen time and again,
Despots are not content with
Merely having all the
Riches and power.
It is not enough to
Control everything and
Everyone all the time
Without resistance.
Their inner neuroses
Demand further action,
Complete eradication of
Contemptible foes.
It’s always the same story:
Use language to denigrate and
Dehumanize their opponents,
Label them vermin.
Even regular, upstanding,
Normally kind people will
Eventually believe something
If it’s repeated enough.
A populace becomes convinced
That the enemy needs to be
Vanquished at any cost and
With extreme prejudice.
The harshest survive,
The most broken
Impose their will
On hapless bystanders,
Darwinian tragedy.
Wired with a capacity
For compassion and
Nuanced thought,
Unconsciously venerating
Brute force.
Clamoring horde of
Merciless boors
Feasting greedily,
Remorselessly,
Ignoble instinct.
A series of crises jolt frail,
Susceptible minds into visceral fear.
Whom to blame, someone, anyone.
Single out the weakest,
Attach despective labels.
Rail against fabricated enemies of
Crumbling state of mind.
Revel in the reassuring words of
Mendacious itinerant salesmen,
Venal opportunists promising to
Protect you from your
Recurring, misplaced nightmare and
Restore order.
Things have been tough lately
For Jessica. Her hours got cut
At the fast food place and people
Aren’t hiring as many housekeepers
As they used to.
She’s talked to the landlord who
Won’t budge on the rent being due
Though she’s always payed on time.
She looks at her kids and holds them
When they say they’re hungry.
No pennies left to pinch, so she
Takes a breath and goes to one of those
Loan places with the lighthearted ads.
She walks through the door and,
Minutes later, has money in hand.
Sure, it was hard putting her car up
As collateral, but things will work out.
A week later she visits another loan
Place to pay the interest on the first,
She hopes things will turn around.
A cacophonous din
Arises, obscuring
The obvious fact that
Someone else’s rights
Have been horribly
Infringed upon.
Manufactured outrage,
Grab the pitchforks
And storm the castle,
Preserve the privilege
Of the people who
Least deserve it.
