Dictators United

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: WORLD DEMOCRACY

Dictators United (The Great Divide)

 

Chi is a dictator *

Putin is a dictator

A dictator is one who has complete power

over the policies and conduct of a nation

That a nation holds mock elections

does not make it a true republic

Trump of the US was a dictator wannabe

He led a failed coup d’état

Bolsonaro of Brazil was a wannabe

He too failed at a coup d’état

Erdogan of Turkey is a wannabe

He attacks the institutions of democracy

Places opposition leaders behind bars

Punishes journalists and dissidents

Modi of India flirts with dictatorship

He leads a violent repression of minorities

He is accused of encouraging genocide

India today remains a democracy

but it teeters on the edge of the abyss

What happens when Modi’s party loses?

Will he yield to the people’s will?

Or will he follow Trump and Bolsonaro?

On this the future of Indian democracy depends

And the world lies in the balance

 

We are fast approaching a division of world

powers into democracies and autocracies

If India joins Chi and Putin in embracing

the strong hand of oppression

a future of perpetual violence and

upheaval lies waiting

 

As members of the free world

we are caught in a vice of horrid choices

We need India to stand with us

We need Turkey to a lesser degree

If they fail the cost will be profound

 

* Biden refers to Chi as a dictator while

welcoming Modi to the White House

 

The Ballad of Christopher Wray

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN DEMOCRACY

Ballad of Christopher Wray

 

Hey hey Christopher Wray

How many crimes did you ignore today?

 

You were in the highest position of power

As we marched toward the critical hour

We assumed a position of supplication

When insurrection threatened the nation

While you stood down in a state of denial

Democracy faced its greatest trial

 

Hey hey Christopher Wray

Who paid you to get out of the way?

 

When the nation needed a strong hand

You flatly refused to take a stand

With the strength and courage you clearly lack

We finally took our country back

Oh the stories you might tell

Instead you’ll take them straight to hell

 

Hey hey Christopher Wray

Why do you still hold office today?

 

The Corrupt Court

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN JUSTICE

The Corrupt Court

 

After decades of neglect

When the press turned their backs

As they did for American heroes

In a former time and frame of mind

The media shines its glaring light

On the infamous corporate court

The highest in the land

The institution beyond reproach

To reveal its corporate brand

 

Accepting bribes from billionaires

Elaborate gifts and housing deals

Has become a standard practice

For the members of this court

 

That there are two systems of justice

Is now an indisputable fact

One for the rich and privileged

Another for the poor, the black

The native, brown and homeless

On the other side of the tracks

Nine Eleven Generation

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: TRUE HISTORY

Nine Eleven Generation

 

The Vietnam generation grew up knowing

America was not always right

We attacked other nations without

Provocation just to prove we were the

Biggest baddest nation on the block

LBJ fed us to the meat grinder of war

And asked us to salute the flag in humble

Servitude to the mythology of USA!

Chanting: USA! USA! USA!

Nixon raised the stakes and fed a hundred

Thousand more knowing we were losing

Knowing we would lose the war

USA! USA! USA!

Some did as they were told

Some rebelled

 

The nine eleven generation grew up

Witnessing our nation under attack

They learned not to ask why

The sorrow of that day became a rage

That would last beyond a lifetime

One nation under God!

My nation right or wrong!

America love it or leave it!

They learned to follow without doubt

War for the sake of war

USA! USA! USA!

The nine eleven generation became

The Trump soldiers marching in lockstep

To destroy the very nation

They are pledged to defend

 

Many Voices

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: DEMOCRACY

Many Voices

 

Democracy can only advance

When we recognize that there are more

Than two voices among the people

There must be more than two choices

To represent them

 

When every important issue in the world

Has the complexity of advanced trigonometry

Why are we compelled to choose between

Polar opposites?

 

Why is everything black and white

Yes or no, down or up, death or life?

 

We need a government that reflects

The diversity of the people

Multiple choices, multiple points of view

 

In this world of ever-increasing complexity

Nothing else will do