Thursday, January 20, 2011

Political Verse (from April 24, 2009)

A response to the previous post

Truth, Justice and the American Way

Political Verse
by Dee Newman

Our often-proclaimed arrogant belief
That the United States is the greatest
Nation in the world is one of the chief
Reasons why so many people hate us.

Given our history of discrimination
And that our journey toward justice for all
Remains an unfulfilled aspiration,
The truth is – we’re not that exceptional.

When our fears corrupt what we aim to be
And our means are justified by the end,
We often surrender what we claim to be
Fighting so hard to protect and defend.

Once interrogation techniques were "enhanced"
And torture deemed an acceptable tool
Within an exceptional circumstance,
The exception, once more, became the rule.

Truth, justice and the American way
Are all equally beckoning us toward
A real reckoning for all those who may
Have not, as yet, received their just reward.

Click here to read my first political verse on torture.
Or here to read another.

1 comment:

mythopolis said...

Difficult subjects to grasp...to think about...to not just want to deny it into our minds. But it is all there. I especially appreciated the one regarding the bipartison report. In the song Brownsville Girl by Dylan he puts down this line: "People don't do what they believe in, they just do what's convenient, and then they repent."
Quite often true. In politics, it is a matter of doing what is convenient, and upon getting caught, find someone else to take the fall.