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
