Carnival of Corruption

Your slurs have the lines blurred
Between what we are willing to accept
And that which is unacceptable
Are you blind to the horrors and atrocities
Or is it all just smoke and mirrors
To distract what the right hand is doing
In the middle of the night, while we sleep tight in our beds made up of satin sheets
And down feathered pillows
Nothing to see here, move on
And only let the willows weep
For those that are under-served and oppressed, in a state of distress
While some resort to repress themselves in the shadows
Where you too reside to prevent being exposed by those who oppose your flagrant and outlandish proposals that make us recompose ourselves daily
While you keep the sheep fed with forbidden fruit and lies
Contunually spouting red herrings to divide us further
Conquering the masses in your dereliction and disruption
That feeds upon the distortion of truth
To serve you further in your gain
That will eventually be torn down by your avarice, arrogance, and lost youth.

via Daily Prompt: Slur

Political Poetry Slam

(To be read in a slam poetry style)

First we resisted
Then she persisted
Because ignorance existed
That only consisted
Of fear that was twisted
Originally told when Schindler listed
…Still, hatred subsisted
But you must of missed it
Due to corruption that was assisted
It isnt too late for you to become unlisted
Please don’t dismiss it
Disegage from the enlisted
At the risk of being blacklisted
Our destiny is not predetermined nor has it preexisted
Because now we will have insisted
On free will
On coexistence
On hope
On tolerance
On education
On information
On diversity
On truth
On acceptance
On freedom
On democracy
On love
On goodness
On humanity

World View

If you kill a caterpillar because it is ugly and you are afraid, then you will never see all of the beauty the world has to offer. Be curious, explore, defeat fear, and  find the potential that awaits.

The Auctioning of America

America’s government is now less “proficient” due to a malignant “growth”. Representatives voted that should have recused themselves, as the corruption of our system erodes the education department. When those elected no longer listen to their constituents they cease to be public servants or officials. When they vote for somone who was/is a donor they then become paid sponsors and puppets to the highest bidder.

Unanswered questions

I admit it….the past few days I’ve been angry, overwhelmed, disappointed, and concerned. The world is shifting towards a time that has past and the is not a positive thing. Have we learned nothing from our sordid history? The Super Bowl ads made me question all of this more. What was it about the Budweiser’s immigration ad that would have made someone want to boycott the company? What is wrong with the Airbnb commercial that was insensitive or offensive? What was the message from Coke that made your hairs prickle in anger? Why was the 84 Lumber commercial not allowed to be shown in its entirety? All of these commercials touched upon the best of humanity to me, and provided a sense of unity.

I am confused because I hear Christians touting  and praising Trump for his actions with immigration, but it seems to be at odds with what Jesus would have done or would condone. The justification makes even less sense to me as people proclaim that it is the same as locking your doors at night to keep criminals out of your home? How is that the same? Is this an attempt to ease your conscience so you can sleep at night as you quiet the cognitive dissonance? It seems a more fitting anology would be that people who are proper, resemble you, and share common interests come to the door and you invite them in for tea, while others show up covered in the dust of a 3000 mile journey, tattered and bruised from the horrors they’ve faced, and are told that they must go back to the land from which they seek asylum and await… for we are afraid. You cannot justify your actions by saying that people from these countries are more likely to atrack us, because we kill more of each other here each year without any help from those on the outside. Do terrorists exist? Of course they do, but we can be vigilant in our vetting, as we have been since 9/11, and prevent as many of the attacks as we can. They will not go away, and the exclusion and exile of a group will only breed more hostility and hate.

The fervor against immigrants has risen to a deafening clamor and we must reset our thinking to remove the unfounded fears that the nationalists and extremists are touting.

The other argument I often hear is that immigrants are welcome, as long as they go through the proper channels. That is incredibly easy for us to say, as we eat our dinners, lounge in our recliners and sleep in beds without ever hearing a bomb go off in the not so distant town next to us. It is easy for us to turn away those that we don’t give a face to. It is easy to make generalizations about those we don’t try to know. People don’t leave their homes and try to escape persecution without a cause. People fear for their lives and their children’s lives, as well as for their loved one’s lives. If we turn away the ones that seek refuge more desparetly than anyone, what does that say about us?

We were fortunate enough to either be born into this country,  or to be offered citizenship through another means. This doesn’t means that we are better than anyone else or that “God” loves us more. Have your mission trips taken you to the places you are most afraid, or do you go to the areas that are poor, but safe? Do you think your God would approve of you denying access to families from the most war-torn countries because you are afraid? Do you think that loving everyone only applies to some of humanity?

I also hear people claiming that the immigrants are taking “our” jobs. This is far from the truth and unemployment is lower than it has been in years. Immigrants take the jobs that few are willing to do here and they often work longer at these jobs because they are appreciative and thankful to have them…not entitled by thinking they are “their” jobs. We are all immigrants in some form or fashion and the jobs offered here were created by immigrants, so to whom do those jobs belong?

I want to try to understand your perspective, but it doesn’t make sense to me. That is why I’m asking the questions throughout because I can’t find a reasonable explanation that isn’t a canned response, or one that is rooted in superiority and judgment.

I love this country, but that is because of how far we have come and everything we have overcome. I don’t want to revert back to a time where we praised isolationism and nationalism. I don’t want to devolve into a time where discrimination, racism, and sexism was acceptable and rampant. I want to progress…to move forward…to evolve…to be kind…to remain free.

 

 

Limerick of Lament

I see more divisiveness than ever before

It is the making of another Civil War

Which seems counterintuitive and quite ironic

Because people have been so accusitory and the air is less that harmonic

As ‘civil’ity has dissolved at its core.

Political word power play

Apparently I’m an “enemy”

Since I disagree

I’m a “bleeding heart liberal”

That likes to hug trees

I “grandstand” and I’m “entitled”

Because I march with cause

But you wouldn’t understand

As you haven’t any flaws

I am a “no-brained” leftist

A fucking “socialist”

I have no purpose or focus

As I am a “nit-wit idealist”

You think our jobs are threatened

And our borders are at stake

So you refuse to give an inch

Because its easier to take

You think religious freedom

Means devout Christianity

But what about all the others

As they pray down on their knees

You turn an eye and a cheek

Deny access to families

While those amongst us plead

And whisper profanities

About the injustices we face

And our civil liberties

That vanish with the swish of his pen

Creating more inequalities

Between the rich and the poor,

The left and the right,

Its even coming to a climax

Between the blacks and the whites.

Take your fascist ideology

And move to a new land

Where it can be what you want

As I am taking am stand.

I may be sensitive and fragile

Just like a unique “snowflake”

While I’m just a human

A blizzard I can make

So prepare yourselves for a long winter

And cozy up with your guns

Because I refuse to allow

My country to be overrun.

By a dictator with his ego

Or his minions close in tow

We don’t need brute force

Because power is in the know.

(Disclaimer: I am actually an independent/moderate with some libertarian and some slightly left leaning tendencies on social issues, but the political climate has created a line which doesn’t seem to allow anyone to cross or fall in the midde; although that is where most of us are.)

Hungerstruck

The extremists and conservatives were famished and now I am consumed, as democracy is being swallowed whole.

A Brave, New Resistance

I will not sit in silence any longer because the noise of your fear is deafening, as you shirk your responsibility to humanity.

I will not accept edicts that are issued without oversight, as that is reserved for kings, dictators, and tyrants.

I will not trust anyone that denies and censors scientific evidence, as that is how you end up in the dark ages.

I will not offer unity unless you unplug your ears and listen without preconceived answers, as that isn’t a conversation nor is it productive.

I will not say ” God bless America”, because if he exists he should bless all, as the former mantra insinuates that we have some unique relationship that isn’t extended to other countries or people.

I will not “just leave”  or “get out of” the country because I don’t like how it is going, as that would be careless and disrespectful to those who have fought so that I can stay and have my voice heard. (Perhaps if you prefer a dictatorship or monarchy you should seek a country where the voice of opposition is stifled, rather than celebrated.)

I will not watch the country I love devolve into a Stone Age mentality without opposition, as that would be apathetic and reckless.

I will not allow our pristine National Parks to be ripped apart and sold off for profit, as that destructive and averistic.

I will not try to make America great again, as that implies that it not great already and I think that it is and I hope it remains such.

I will think critically about policies with which I disagree and form an opinion, as that is democracy and American.

I will voice my opinion and express my concern over issues that infringe upon core values and human rights, as that is democracy and American.

I will speak for those that don’t have a voice and for the under-served, as that is democracy and American.

I will fight against oppression, discrimination, racism, hatred, as that is democracy and American.

I will stand with our veterans and push for improved healthcare and better training, as that is democracy and American.

I will push to keep church and state separate, (otherwise freedom of religion is inhibited; though all have the right to teach children as they see fit at home), as that is democracy and American.

I will provide research and factual information to mitigate the fear of those that only look to items that confirm their belief, as that is democracy and American.

I will try to understand your side and work toward compromise if you will be considerate and respectful of my side, as that is democracy and American.

I will work to keep America great, as that is democracy and American.