Saturday, January 30, 2021

A Race Against Time

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: CORONAVIRUS SERIES


Race Against Time

 

It is not a war

With bullets and guns

It is not an enemy

Of any kind

As the virus evolves

It may render us blind

It may steal our resolve

It’s a race against time

 

We have the vaccines

That protect us for now

But as the mutants take hold

We may not know how

To protect us tomorrow

And on down the line

It’s a long hard road

It’s a race against time

 

We know what to do

We know how it’s done

It will not be easy

And it will not be fun

But we have no choice

We’re caught in a bind

To survive this virus

It’s a race against time

 

So line up in your cities

Line up in your towns

Take your shot in the arm

When your turn comes around

For now we’re not worried

We’re feeling just fine

But tomorrow’s in question

It’s a race against time

 

Friday, January 29, 2021

Dual Uprisings

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: GLOBAL DEMOCRACY


Dual Uprisings

 

They’re marching in the streets of Moscow

To put an end to a ruthless dictator

They marched in the streets of Washington

To defend an unscrupulous traitor

 

We support the Russian dissidents

In their struggle for democracy

We despise the American insurgents

For their contemptible hypocrisy

 

We join with those who bravely oppose

The oppressive reign of Vladimir

We stand hand in hand in unity against

Those who impose their will through fear

 

They are bashing heads in Russia

While here we are in despair

They’re fighting for their democracy

We need to show we care

 

Thursday, January 28, 2021

Embrace Professionalism

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR:  ON TYRANNY


Embrace Professionalism

 

Democracy survived

On the backs of civil servants in

Pennsylvania Georgia Arizona Michigan

Individuals refused to bow

To an unscrupulous president

Precinct captains and secretaries of state

Planted the staff and held their ground

In cities counties and modest towns

 

They upheld the law

In defiance of their party

They upheld their code

In deference to their honor

They carried a heavy load

 

When all else failed

And the rule of law slipped away

Professionalism held strong

And democracy won the day

 

Lawyers are bound to the law

Judges are bound to legal dictates

Doctors are bound to an ethical code

Administrators uphold standards

And teachers are bound to rules

Without which order disintegrates

And we fall prey to a fool’s dictates

 

When all else fails the test

Professionalism is the last line of defense

Against the insurrectionist mob

They honorably do their jobs 


* See On Tyranny by Timothy Snyder

Wednesday, January 27, 2021

One Party (On Tyranny)

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: ON TYRANNY


One Party

 

Democracy is not a team sport

Though we often treat it as if it were

To our side we give only praise

To the opposition we shout a curse

 

Politics is not a religion

It’s healthy to disagree

No one is always right

No one can always please

 

Whenever one man has all the answers

Though the questions have not been asked

You can be sure beyond all doubt

That man is wearing a deceptive mask

 

Beware anyone who proclaims the truth

The one and only way

For there is no single answer

To the problems we face today

 

Democracy demands multiple voices

An open forum for debate

If you have only a single party

Tyranny will be your fate

 

Tuesday, January 26, 2021

Symbols of Hate

RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: ON TYRANNY

 

Symbols of Hate

 

The face of the world has meaning

It should never be ignored

Signs and symbols of hatred

Precede the dragon that roared

 

Remember when the N word

Was in everyday use

Racists laid it out there

To test the limits of their abuse

 

They test our sensibilities

By observing how we react

To see how much we will accept

Their racist creed as a given fact

 

Tolerance is a license to abuse

The new swastika is the letter Q

If you would not be a supremacist

Do not walk in a supremacist’s shoes

 

If you would not tolerate a gangland mark

Do not accept the Proud Boy game

A swastika or the numeral XIII

A MAGA hat is just the same

 

Bigotry is bigotry

Racism is racism

Intolerance is intolerance

By any other name 


[NOTE: Inspired by Timothy Snyder's On Tyranny]


Monday, January 25, 2021

Respect the Word

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR:  GLOBAL DEMOCRACY


Respect the Word

 

Orwell served warning

Words and language matter

Use your words wisely

In contrast to the Mad Hatters

 

Freedom is not oppression

Love is not hate

Poverty is not a blessing

Tyranny is not fate

 

Patriotism does not belong to party

Free people do not obey

News is not fake

No matter what the man might say

 

There is only one real truth

There are no alternative facts

Combine your heart with your head

And on that basis react

 

When others spread falsehoods

With your silence you appease

When good words serve bad causes

They become a malignant disease

 

Every authoritarian movement

Begins with a false word

A catchy slogan or phrase

That appeals to the herd

 

Remember the Reign of Terror

Recall the Third Reich

They claimed a righteous cause

For which the people could fight

 

Every dictator in history

From Pol Pot to Chairman Mao

Relied on abuse of language

Machiavelli showed them how

 

Call it out

Loud and bold

Strip it bare

Stop it cold 


[Note:  This is one in a series of poems inspired by Timothy Snyder's On Tyranny.]

 

Sunday, January 24, 2021

America Reborn

RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN DEMOCRACY

 

America Reborn

 

The miracle of democracy is

That our government is reborn

Every four years

 

Often there is continuity

A civilized transfer of power

A seamless flow of common ideas

Connecting past to future

 

Sometimes there is upheaval

As there is today

A severance of the present

From the past

A new beginning

A complete rebirth

 

Democracy for all its stumbles

For all its flaws

Affords us this opportunity

This miracle of renewal

 

We begin to heal our wounds

We begin to breathe again

We begin to see the light

We begin to believe again

 

We are America

We lost ourselves

As nations sometimes do

But we have returned

To embrace the dream

To secure the indelible truth