RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: WORLD DEMOCRACY
Democracy
under Fire
There
can be no democracy
when the
people are under the gun
You
cannot have fair elections
when
you’re allowed to kill the opposition
In El
Salvador the people have
embraced
a brutal dictatorship
In
Pakistan abuse of justice has
altered
the balance of power
In
Hungary the free press and lawful
opposition
have been banned
In
Turkey they crush the forces of
democracy
by all means necessary
In
Russia they imprison dissidents
and hold
mock elections
In
Afghanistan and Iran there is
only one
voice
In
America democracy balances
on the
head of a pin
A raging
fire of brutality spreads
Flames
fanned by criminal enterprise
Roaming
gangs of rapists and killers
The
promise of order without law
The
desperation of common people
The
desire for a simple life
Democracy
cannot exist where lives
are in
constant upheaval
Where
everything you have can
be taken
away by criminals
Where
the fundamental needs of
the
people are denied
And yet
democracy is the only
answer
to the usurpation of power
Only
democracy can defeat lawlessness
Only
democracy can provide for the
needs of
the people
When it
is gone you will learn
When it
is gone you will understand
how
difficult it is to get it back again
