 |
| {for my father - the misanthrope} |
*It started as a typo
and ended as a war.
No one really knew
where the fight was
from or what it
would be
for.
- - - - - - - - - -
“I think it was over money.”
Well, so is everything.
“No – sometimes it's over
principle.”
That's a pot for
funds-gathering.
“I mean values, ethics – human
rights.”
That pitch they sell the
consumer?
“No – our mission there, our
social goal.”
I love your sense of humor.
“I hate you. And I
hope
you know that
if a
chance comes
for
peace, you
won't see
it.”
Son, nothing sells
tickets like songs
of PEACE; they're
sold on the airwaves
and business walls.
If it's not being
whispered (just
a rumble in
the street)
…we don't
need
it.
It is frustrating, as someone very idealistic, to be aware that nearly all the injustices in our world stem from a conflict about or a quest in pursuit of money. Abuses like imperialism were justified by how much profit they could bring the oppressors, and today, I still hear them justified with the same argument; if colonization is the reason we have a country that creates such modern technology, or if it is the reason that country has large sums of money, then it must have been a necessary evil, right?
ReplyDeleteAnd if war, or just conflict in general, keeps the top rich, then it will never end. If songs of peace are what the people want to hear, then somehow, we have to make sure they never stop playing. There is no collective action untainted by the corruption of money, and if there is, then it is the uprising of those who have suffered at the hands of those seeking money.
I see the struggle I often feel within myself as I read this poem. Part of me wants to believe that people, for the most part, tend to be good, but I always talk myself out of that. It is a constant battle. The personal, practical, and principle (as displayed in the collage) are three concepts that are difficult to rationalize in tandem, but they are ultimately impossible to separate.
Good/Evil, the People/the Oppressor, Peace/Money ... a world framed in binaries is always going to feel like a world at war.
DeleteThat's the challenge of living with idealistic tendencies :) it opens us up to the temptation of "This is Not Good!... And this could be Better!... I see what Could be, Should be, and we're so so so so far..."
When I look at aging idealists, I notice they tend to fall into two camps: the bitter, disappointed idealists "The world is screwed, and humans screwed it, and evil prevails..." and the wry pragmatists "Here's another opportunity for poking a little hole in the bullshit banner, lovingly rocking the boat, helping that group that needs it when the system isn't working, opening a window and letting some sunlight in..."
My dad is the first kind of idealist. I'm doing everything I can in my heart and in my thoughts to grow myself into the second kind.
Thank you for your response. I would also rather be the second kind. When I start to feel helpless in the face of large, worldly problems, and I think that there aren’t enough people who care to make a change, I try to remind myself that it is worth it to keep going. Even if it’s only me who cares right now, that’s okay. Everything starts with one person.
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