|
When I was in grade school
they tried to convince me
all was well with our country,
yet the Cold War frightened us
with fear of atomic bombs
and the best school could do
was have us hide under desks,
suspended me when I wouldn’t,
refused to listen to me
when I tried to explain
cowering under a desk
can’t protect us from the bomb.
When I was in high school
they tried to convince me
we were a democracy
with all kinds of civil rights
that were guaranteed us
by the Constitution,
yet blacks were excluded
from promised benefits
that all our citizens
were entitled to have
according to the laws
that governed our land.
When I was in college
they tried to convince me
that capitalism
was good for everyone
and what’s good for big business
is good for the country,
yet not for minorities,
not for those in poverty
with their meager existence
denied opportunities
for their innocent children
who believe in the U.S.A.
I left the ‘Halls of Learning’
without any answers
to my many questions.
It was obvious to me
our system was unfair
but it still seemed better
than any other system
which was a bit consoling,
but not satisfactory.
I wasn’t naïve enough
to believe in perfection
but we deserved better.
I was in my twenties
when the war in Vietnam
began to escalate.
I didn’t know much about war
but began to understand
there are different kinds of war.
As more and more of our troops,
urban blacks and rural whites,
were deployed to South Vietnam
where unlike some other wars
this time there was a reason
for the anti-war movement.
By my early thirties
I was a brand-new father,
thought more about the future
of my land for my daughter.
Our first economic war
that benefited the few
was raging in South Vietnam
to replace World War II gear
with new modern equipment
profiting manufacturers,
promoting career soldiers,
killing children of poverty.
|
Extreme anti-war protests
were mostly well-meaning
by folks who didn’t understand
that war is big business
but without a righteous cause
is raw capitalism,
committing troops and treasure
to be expended abroad
without any benefits
that would improve anything
for American people,
the American nation.
When I was in my forties
I learned how economics
basically caused most wars
and our government told us
and the media told us
so we would let our children
be sent somewhere far away
that many hadn’t heard of
to be wounded, to be killed
in a meaningless conflict
for our citizens back home
who still trusted our country.
When I was in my fifties
I finally realized
our country is divided
into two separate groups;
the people of privilege
with well-rewarded servants
and almost everyone else
slowly being abandoned
if we couldn’t adapt to change,
since we no longer made things
and jobs that once nurtured us
were outsourced without consent.
By the time I reached sixty
it had become very clear
the great divide was wider
and more difficult to bridge.
I still tried to believe
that the many well-meaning
still had opportunity
to improve our troubled land,
but the inequality
between the haves and have-nots
made differences so great
there was only us and them.
Things looked worse in my seventies.
Terror was the big enemy
while we ignored poverty.
The burst real estate bubble
further reduced the middle class
already under assault
from the greedy 1%
who needed to amass more
at the expense of others
who if allowed to prosper
might compete for fine art,
might remain independent.
Things got worse in my eighties.
The country just didn’t matter
to so many self-centered,
self-serving politicians
always placing themselves first,
not caring for the nation.
The economic gap is wide.
We don’t see the mega-yachts
sailing off with our future
as we are daily dazzled
by smart phones, social media,
now our bread and circus.
I will not reach my nineties
so I must use my brief time
to get folks to ask questions.
Why don’t some politicians
want some to have insurance?
Death and taxes once certain,
now many don’t pay taxes.
Refusing to compromise
ensures we don’t get much done.
America’s survival
is now in jeopardy
without honest caretakers.
|
