A commentary in poetry

“United we stand, divided we fall”

The ancient truth of Aesop stands, an axiom unchallenged.
When we unite, no power on earth we cannot overcome.
Our rulers know this. They understand the power of the masses.
And so conspire to set us one against the other, dividing into classes,

exploiting every negative to keep us separate.
Relying on our ignorance, our apathy, our hate.
The saddest testament is how we live, and what we say,
continuing the lies they thrust upon us every day.

We've learned this canticle of  propaganda all too well.
So tell, me, brother, sister, is it time for us to swell
into a single mass and cry together, “NO! NO MORE!”
“We've had it with your petty lies, your avarice and war,

your struggles to protect the rich and keep the poor contained,
your greed in keeping everything within your rich domain.
Your politics and trickery replaced the chains of old,
we're tired of waiting patiently for what will never come.”

Think carefully, my brethren, before you stand with me,
for greed and avarice will not go quietly.
They'll use their laws and armies to attempt to keep us down.
They'll call us communists and claim we are the ones,

the real culprits of the cause of all your loss and pain.
They'll whittle at the least of us til nothing else remains.
Unless you really want this world to change, don't stand at all,
go back in to your closet, go spray paint on your wall,

do nothing, and hope someday your children will be wise,
not following the path that you have set before their eyes,
but rising to the knowledge that we are of one race,
and understanding being human is not about a place,

a sea, a book, traditions, or how we think of God,
but a universal kinship, a vast genetic bond.
We are HUMAN, we are one, we are united in our blood,
inherent in our strength is our desire to be one.

So, tell me, brother, sister, can you offer up your lives,
to realize a dream where people everywhere survive
in harmony and unity, without the chains of old?
Are you willing to be brave? Are you willing to be bold?

Are you willing to be tolerant, and can you understand,
the differences among us are the power to be grand?
The colors of the rainbow exist within our hearts.
Are you willing to embrace them, give love a fresh, new start?

I would not have you answer me from lurching gut reaction,
but having thought this through, discussing with each faction,
if we are willing as a race to put away the past
and bring the new millennium of peace to Earth at last.

I've little more to say on this, my sermon's at an end.
If nothing else, I hope that you are thinking now, my friend.
I'll add one final epigram, these words you should recall,
“united we will surely stand, divided we will fall.”

Frederick Smith
© June 23, 2012

The Universal Franchise

"We are all born in a terribly unfair world." I don't care who you are, when you hear this statement, you will nod your head in agreement. That saying is a generally accepted axiom [def: a saying that is widely accepted on its own merits. (For those who need it, no offense to those who don't.)] But does it need to be true?

I think many people who accept this accept Social Darwinism as well. Yes, there will always be the smarter, stronger, wiser or more savvy among us, but are they any more deserving of a decent, fear free life than any of us? Should anyone be denied Life, Liberty, or the Pursuit of Happiness because they are above or below average?

 According to our Declaration of Independence, everyone is entitled to these things. It shouldn't make a difference if you are brilliant or mentally challenged, if you are wealthy or poor. Your life should be of the highest quality, free of challenges to your survival, free to pursue your desires. You should not have to "earn" happiness or life. You should be able to pursue whatever you like as long as it does not interfere with the rights of another.

 This is not socialism, communism, or any other "ism" on the books. This is the statement of the Declaration of Independence, sometimes known as the Universal Franchise. We have an obligation to level the playing field to afford opportunity to all, not just the lucky ones, not just the 1%.

We have an obligation to ensure every American has a place to live, food to eat, clothes to wear, and access to education to improve their life beyond simple survival. We have an obligation to allow everyone to compete if they wish, and to allow those who do not to survive as human beings.

 We have no right to ostracize, to discriminate, to eschew or cast out any person who desires the basic necessities of life. We can only do so when such an individual threatens the safety of their neighbors or this nation with attempts to destroy what we know to be right; that all people on this planet deserve to be treated as human beings as long as they are willing to respect the rights of others.

 This is why the upcoming election is so important, my friends. The incumbents, Democrat and Republican alike, are bent on retaining the current system of "checks and balances" in our economy and in our society, those same checks and balances which sustain welfare, homelessness, poverty, unemployment, and all the inequality of this nation which has been created by this endless stream of career politicians to maintain their control of the United States while appearing to fight for the people.

 We must eliminate Career Politicians from our nation. We must elect people who are willing to serve this nation and then return to the private sector to allow for others to contribute. We must eliminate the machine.

Thoughts on America

BREATHES there the man with soul so dead, Who never to himself hath said, 'This is my own, my native land!' - Sir Walter Scott. 1771–1832

This is the question that fills my heart
as I look about at America. Are we
so fragmented, so different, so apart
from one another we cannot see

our crossroads are upon us? Our epiphany
must come today, or, should we turn away,
our legacy will be no more than history,
forgotten legends of a better, brighter day.

No hero comes to save us. Our choices pave our way,
and in them, we must choose to lay aside
the past of hate and fear and unrepentant sway,
of teachings long ago decried,

as foolish walls, built to repress and hide
the truth. We are the same. We live. We love.
We grow old and die. We ask our children to abide
our sins, forgive our debts, and above

all pray they will be better than we are.
Our legacy is all we have to give,
What will it be? Shall there remain a shining star
of freedom, peace, prosperity, or will we give

a legacy of apathy and indifference,
of pain and suffering, of rusted hopes
and dreams fallen in the mire of impotence?
The time is now, the scope

of what we choose will haunt the days to come.
Shall we choose to submit ... or overcome.

Frederick E. Smith
Copyright 2012 - All rights reserved