Putin's Allies (the Devil's Companions)

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: GLOBAL POLITICS (UKRAINE)

Putin’s Allies (the Devil’s Companions)

 

Putin launched his war on the west

Long before the invasion of Crimea

Infecting the body politic with the

Promise of nationalist authoritarianism

Poisoning the public discourse

With fear of the immigrant others

Le Pen and Zemmour in France

Matteo Salvini in Italy

Schroder and Weidel of Germany

Thierry Baudet of the Netherlands

Kyriakos Velopoulos of Greece

Santiago Abascal of Spain

Boris Johnson of Britannia

Bolsonaro of Brazil

Trump of the USA

 

They trip over their own tongues

Their own promises and loyalties

Yet the truth is clear

They are soldiers in Putin’s army

A war against democracy

A war against western values

A war against individual rights

And civil liberties

 

Listen to them carefully

For when the sanctions begin to bite

They will show their true colors

They belong to Putin

And they will return to him

At first light

 

The Indoctrinated

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: GLOBAL POLITICS

The Indoctrinated

 

There is blame enough to go around

Those who saw the truth but remained silent

Those who spoke out but quietly

Those who protested but ineffectively

Those who took the easy path

Those who simply went along

Those who sang the party song

 

Those who knew but failed to act

The officers who fired the missiles

The commanders who gave the orders

The pilots who dropped the bombs

The soldiers who pulled the trigger

The officials who stood down

The workers who made the weapons

The journalists who toed the line

Those who pretended all was fine

 

The blame belongs to countless souls

across the years and decades

who saw what Putin was becoming

who knew the danger that he wrought

but feared his brutal retribution

who feared they would be caught

 

But what of those who were believers?

Those who bought the party line

Those who worshiped their dear leader

Those who followed with devotion

Those who never thought to question

Those who thought one man was God

Above the others, above the law

Despite all they plainly saw

 

What of the indoctrinated?

Do they too own a share of blame?

They should have known! you say

They should have seen past the lies

They would have known if they had tried

 

But as the followers of Adolf Hitler claimed:

If he had chosen you

You also would have followed

Where he led *

You also would have fought

You also would have bled

 

Let us not assess blame

Let us judge by what we do and say

Now that we all know the truth

 

* The Man in the Glass Booth

By Robert Shaw

 

Berlin Dispatch

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: GLOBAL POLITICS

Berlin Dispatch

 

In Berlin they are walking a fine line

Between security and civil liberties

They are denying gun ownership

Infiltration of police and military forces

Means of recruitment and fundraising

To far right extremists

 

Germany knows the dangers of

Militant nationalist supremacist extremists

Better than any other nation

Germany knows how vulnerable

Democracy can be

 

As it is in Germany so it is in America

Birthplace of McCarthyism

Home of the militia movement

Home of conspiracy theorists

Home of authoritarian sympathizers

Home of the Klan

 

As it is in America so it is in Germany

We must walk a thin line

Between security and civil liberties

We must recognize the dangers

Without sacrificing the heart

Of our democracy

 

We must defend the rights

Of those we otherwise despise

We must defend the rights of those

Who would deny us our rights

Without hesitation

 

For that is what it means to be

A patriot

 

Police State

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: GLOBAL POLITICS (UKRAINE)

Police State

 

If you speak to a microphone in Red Square

You will be detained

If you speak your mind in a public place

You will be arrested

If you oppose the government

You will be detained

If you express sympathy for victims

Of the war in Ukraine

You will be arrested and detained

You will be reeducated

Reprogrammed and restrained

 

There are no dissidents in a police state

There are only unfortunate souls

There are only fools and delinquents

Captured by arrogant trolls

 

The leader is supreme

Without flaw or impediment

The leader is always right

And those who oppose

Must be silenced