Don't Panic (On Tyranny)

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: ON TYRANNY

Don’t Panic

 

Inevitably

That which we fear will happen

Must happen

In the course of time

In the unfolding of events

In the race against the darkness

Don’t panic

Remain calm

 

Those who would deny your freedom

And steal you rights

Are counting on your reflex

At the next cataclysmic event

Don’t panic

Remain calm

Keep your feet on the ground

And your faculties intact

 

For there will always be cataclysmic events

And people who wish to exploit them

For humans are an unscrupulous lot

Of power seeking women and men

 

Bush the Younger and old Dick Cheney

Exploited September eleven

Vlad the Bad exploited numerous threats

It’s been going on forever and ever

At least since nineteen and seven

 

The storming of the Capitol Building

Is the latest in tragic exploitation

The call goes out for new laws

To strip away our civil liberties

To conquer domestic terror

 

Don’t panic

Remain calm

Remember the Patriot Act

Remember the names they called us

For opposing

 

Of course there are homegrown terrorists

Of course they pose a threat

But ask yourself: 

Do our security forces

Need any more power

To spy on our fellow citizens?

 

Don’t panic

Remain calm

Proceed in due caution 

 

 (Based on Timothy Snyder's excellent pamphlet)