Democracy in Peru

RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: LATIN AMERICA

 

Peruvian Democracy

 

Crime is the enemy of a civil society

When crime rises, trust declines

Bringing discontent and social anxiety

Democratic values fall behind

 

In Peru they send their leaders to jail

For failure to stop the criminal waves

That’s what happens when society fails

Corruption pulls them to an early grave

 

Now that Boluarte is out and Jeri is in

The demand for change will be growing

The countdown to elections will begin

They hope the crime rate will be slowing

 

Democracy can’t be a revolving wheel

That does not address the people’s needs

When government abuses power to steal

It is replaced with lightning speed

 

The enduring lesson of Peru’s democracy

Is that stability must take hold

To prevent the danger of autocracy

The people must be strong and bold

 

 

The Argentinian Compromise

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: LATIN AMERICA

 

Argentinian Compromise

 

Between a steamroller and a boulder

The Argentinians are in crisis

The prospects are growing colder

With their inflationary prices

 

On one side looms the dragon

The full forces of oppression

Put your pesos in their wagon

You will be headed for depression

 

On the other is the autocrat

The unvarnished force of greed

If this is where your country’s at

Argentina is bound to bleed

 

The land with a tortured history

Is a land in desperate need

With a leader who is lost

And who will pay most any cost

 

To maintain his hold on power

Despite the welfare of the nation

As we approach the final hour

That will define their destination

 

 

Strongmen of Nicaragua

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: WORLD DEMOCRACY

 

Strongmen of Nicaragua

 

Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo

Rule the nation with an iron fist

A growing number of desaparecido

Their names were on a list

 

They disappear their adversaries

Like their predecessors did before

No telling where the bodies are buried

It’s a part of the nation’s lore

 

It’s an endless fight for liberty

In the nations below the border

They pray the soldiers let them be

They plead for law and order

 

But the government is the problem

They have guns and they have power

The courts cannot absolve them

When it comes to the reckoning hour

 

They are cursed to live in darkness

Until the light comes shining through

Like a hawk trapped in its nest

Until the day it finally flew

 

Moldova Chooses Freedom

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: WORLD DEMOCRACY

 

Moldova Chooses Freedom

 

Maia Sandu remains president

In a free and fair election

Vladimir Putin is feeling spent

With his candidate’s rejection

 

The people of Moldova

Choose democracy once again

Putin tried to interfere

But he was denied a win

 

The affirmation goes to show

When the people have a choice

The desire for freedom grows

They will exercise their voice

 

We salute fair Moldova

While NATO lies in wait

Russia is like a melanoma

A disease is their estate

 

The future now looks bright

Form Moldovan democracy

Again they’ve seen the light

A stern rejection of autocracy

 

 

The Rise of Gen Z

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: GLOBAL POLITICS

 

The Rise of Gen Z

 

It rises from the internet

From the darkness of the web

The mold is cast and set

To the cry of Johnny Reb

 

From Madagascar to Sri Lanka

From the Philippines to Nepal

It comes down against corruption

Warning up against the wall!

 

It has no leaders or philosophy

At least that’s what we’re told

It moves ahead with lightning speed

And stuns when it unfolds

 

It turned the tide in Kathmandu

It caught fire in Paraguay

With the flames of angry youth

Demanding fundamental rights

 

You didn’t listen to them before

You might want to listen now

They don’t want your stupid wars

And their voice is growing loud

 

They stand as Generation Z

Their time has now arrived

Their cry is spreading like a weed

Their word is carried far and wide

 

Last Best Stand

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: WORLD DEMOCRACY

 

Last Best Stand

 

We don’t know what the future holds

We’ll do the best we can

Be strong, my friend, be true, be bold

For this may be the last best stand

 

The warning bells have sounded now

We’re sound in our positions

We’re dreamers yet we’re grounded now

We’re poets and magicians

 

We’re called upon to hold our ground

It’s a battle set in stone

We’re sworn to never let you down

Though we may stand alone

 

This is the path we’re given

Though we want to cause no harm

We’re desperate and we’re driven

But they are better armed

 

They have their money and their guns

We have what we can carry

Until the battle’s lost or won

On this ground we’ll be buried

 

Kathmandu

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: WORLD DEMOCRACY

 

Kathmandu

 

Kumari did not come to Durbar Square

The city was in lockdown

The living goddess wasn’t there

Abandoning the hallowed ground

 

Nepal is a land in disarray

Its democracy lies in tatters

The people lie in wait and pray

There peaceful lives are shattered

 

They left their monarchy behind

Not so many years ago

Since then the blind have led the blind

And the discontent has grown

 

A democracy requires more

Than a paper constitution

A balance of power at its core

And strong civil institutions

 

What comes next in Kathmandu

No one really knows

The one thing we know is true

The desperation grows

 

Arresting Democracy (France)

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: WORLD DEMOCRACY

 

Arresting Democracy

 

What are we to make of the protests in France?

More of the same?

A familiar refrain?

Or something that cuts more deeply?

 

Macron has far too often turned

Too far to the right

Too eager to fight

On the side of the rich and privileged

 

He wants cuts in social spending

Spare those with wealth

Make cuts to health

The spirit of the French is ending

 

They are gathered on the streets again

To end the rule

To support the schools

They are tired of feeling betrayed

 

They are fighting with a brutal force

To stifle their voice

They have no choice

There must be law and order

 

But the people of France will have their say

They know their rights

They’re willing to fight

For France and the liberal way

 

America the Free

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN DEMOCRACY

 

America the Free

 

This is not the Philippines

Where Duterte had his reign

We know what independence means

We will not be restrained

 

This is not Beijing

Where they have an iron fist

Where freedom has no meaning

Where they keep an enemies list

 

This is not the Kremlin

Where Putin is their king

Where dissenters are imprisoned

Where elections are a sting

 

This is not Pyongyang

In service to dear leader

When Lady Liberty rang

They replied they didn’t need her

 

This is the land of liberty

America the free

Where individuality

Belongs to you and me

 

This is the land of light

No man above the law

Where fundamental rights

Are not considered flaws

 

Where everyone is free

To speak as they will speak

To be what they would be

To seek what they would seek

 

 

Putin and Xi

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: GLOBAL POLITICS

 

Putin and Xi (and Modi)

 

Putin meets with Xi

The monster of the north

Meets the beast of the east

What does it mean going forth?

 

The invasion carries on

As the monster stakes his claim

The whole world knows he’s wrong

We will not forget Ukraine

 

Kiev expresses fear

That America will refrain

That the end is drawing near

But we won’t forget Ukraine

 

Ukraine would be the first

But it would not be the last

Nor would it be the worst

Another war would come to pass

 

Thanks to Putin and to Xi

The end of human rights

A massive loss of dignity

Democracy in plight

 

Now Modi joins the fray

On the wrong side of the line

From the republic he will stray

To lead his nation in decline

 

 

Defending Democracy

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN DEMOCRACY

 

Defending Democracy

 

Defending democracy is a fulltime job

It cannot be taken for granted

Its enemies will cheat and rob

Make sure your staff is planted

 

They’re coming after the voting place

They’re sending out their brutes

They’ll make it hard to win the race

They’re thugs in designer suits

 

They’ll attack anyone who opposes them

From the powerful to the local mayor

They’ll rip you up from root to stem

If you ask them, they don’t care

 

Stealing the vote is an old tradition

On both sides of the aisle

Every voter must now take a position

Is democracy still in style?

 

The right to vote is no longer given

The Supreme Court gave it away

We must be grim and hardline driven

To keep what our founders gave

 

The Final Hour

RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: DEMOCRACY

 

The Final Hour

 

Freedom is no longer free

The brutes have come to power

We have entered our last plea

It is nearing the final hour

 

We thought we could fight the machine

With the weapons that words provide us

The machine doesn’t know what it means

We’re desperate for someone to guide us

 

Justice is no longer just

Decency was devoured

We’ve lost all sense of trust

We’re approaching the final hour

 

We believed the good would prevail

By the strength of our institutions

The four pillars would never fail

We would push for better solutions

 

But freedom is no longer free

And justice belongs to power

We swore that this could never be

We’re nearing the final hour

 

Yet there is time to make amends

There is time to forge another path

Before the road of history bends

Before the despot’s wrath

 

Protests in Kiev

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: UKRAINE

 

Protests in Kiev

 

Divisions in the ranks

Protests in Ukraine

Rubles in the bank

All efforts are in vain

 

Putin puts his dirty hands

In places they don’t belong

A sour note inside the band

Will fracture every song

 

It’s hard to maintain unity

In the face of constant pressure

But unity is what we need

With faith in equal measure

 

Russian hands are everywhere

Beware the infiltrators

Pretending that they really care

When all along they’re traitors

 

Do not forget democracy

Without it we are lost

We can’t afford hypocrisy

One man is not the boss

 

Friends and Adversaries

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: TRADE 

 

Friends and Adversaries

 

We used to be the best of friends

Now we pose a threat

On trade our friendship now depends

The balance of our debt

 

For Canada and Mexico

Our patience has grown thin

The tariff threat will come and go

And neither side will win

 

Brazil was once our ally

When Bolsonaro was in charge

But Trump and Lula will not lie

Their relationship is hard

 

We used to like democracies

At the least we gave the lie

Now we only like autocracies

That virtue would defy

 

We need to find our truth again

We’ve lost it in the haze

Let’s move to where we’ve never been

Those better, brighter days

 

 

We Will Get By

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: DEMOCRACY

 

We Will Get By

 

You have to believe we will get by

You have to believe

That democracy will prevail

When all is said …

The autocrats, the dictators, the wannabes,

The hustlers, the con men, the promise

You everything wise guys...

They’re all lies

You have to believe the people

Will see through them

 

The trouble is there are so many of them

They come in all forms and colors

They wear fancy clothes and wry grins

They drive Tesla’s and Cadillac Seville’s

They bring you sparkling gifts

But their gold is pyrite

Their magic is a conjuring spell

Their promise is an empty shell

 

There is only one truth

She is not fancy

She has no bells and whistles

She is not the belle of the ball

But she is steady and persistent

She is the stronger tenfold

And democracy is her friend

And democracy we’ll defend

 

We will get by

 

(re: Grateful Dead’s A Touch of Grey)