Wednesday, January 12, 2011
When Should I Believe You? - an ode to political discourse in America
Note: the following poem is not intended to insult or libel any one individual or political party.
When you said that "Muslims attacked the US on 9/11", was I supposed to believe you?
When you said that "Saddam Hussein and Iraq were somehow behind the terrorist attacks", was I supposed to believe you?
When you said "Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction and posed an imminent threat to our nation's security", was I supposed to believe you?
When you showed me images depicting terrorists hiding behind every bush, was I supposed to believe you? Was I supposed to be afraid?
When you said that anyone who did not agree with your plans to keep us safe was "anti-American", "unpatriotic" or " did not support the military", was I supposed to believe you?
When you said that a presidential candidate was not a "real American hero" when he spoke out against a war which he felt was unjust, was I supposed to believe you?
When you said that the candidate's words were "aiding and abetting the enemy", was I supposed to believe you?
When you said that you were not wiretapping ordinary citizens, was I supposed to believe you?
When you said that "America does not torture" and that you were "shocked by the pictures from Abu Ghraib", was I supposed to believe you?
When you later said that another presidential candidate was a Muslim, was I supposed to believe you?
When you said that he hates white people and attends a church that hates white people, was I supposed to believe you?
When you said that a presidential candidate supported a group called ACORN that was trying to steal our elections, was I supposed to believe you?
When you said that this candidate wanted to take money from "Joe The Plumber" and redistribute it to people who will not work, was I supposed to believe you?
When you said that this presidential candidate pals around with terrorists, was I supposed to believe you?
When you said that he wasn't born in the United States and isn't a citizen, was I supposed to believe you?
When you said that he has a socialist or communist agenda, was I supposed to believe you?
When you said that he wants to create death panels for our grandparents, was I supposed to believe you?
When you said that he wants to take away my money, my guns, my country and put mosques on every corner, was I supposed to believe you?
When you told me that I am in danger, that I am not safe, was I not supposed to be afraid?
When you said that "he" is not "one of us", was I supposed to believe you?
You said that he is a member of a religion that wants to destroy my way of life. He hates me for my race. He pals around with terrorists. He wants to take away my money, my guns, and my freedoms. He wants to kill my grandparents. He is not one of us.
When you told me to reload, to remember second amendment remedies, to become armed and dangerous, what do you think I heard?
You tell me that YOU love peace and hate violence, am I supposed to believe you?
You tell me, "No one should be deterred from speaking up and speaking out in peaceful dissent, and we certainly must not be deterred by those who embrace evil and call it good. And we will not be stopped from celebrating the greatness of our country and our foundational freedoms by those who mock its greatness by being intolerant of differing opinion and seeking to muzzle dissent with shrill cries of imagined insults."
Am I supposed to believe that you believe this? Or, am I supposed to believe that you want me to believe this?
Was I supposed to believe that the President took a trip to India that cost the American taxpayers $200 million a day? Was I supposed to believe that a tenth of the naval fleet was with him?
Am I supposed to believe that the Obama administration is corrupt and needs to be investigated?
Did I imagine these insults? Or, did you imagine your facts?
Am I supposed to believe that you didn't mean any of those other things? Or, am I supposed to believe that you did?
Am I supposed to believe that I should never really believe you?
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This is what today's political entity tries to accomplish with us..."it" tries to conquer and divide. Today that mentality is winning. In this country, everyone is allowed an opinion. Even Joe Biden, Sarah Palin and those who don't see things in the same way as another. We have a responsibility as Americans to learn, to research fact from political bias and fiction. We have an obligation to future generations to know the truth and not to be force fed our knowledge by 24 hour news. We must make the time to make our own decisions, not ones led by any particular party. Allowing parties to dominate our decisions breeds contempt, creates confusion and no one can get to the real facts for mudslinging. There is a 9 year old girl whose room is empty today...and forever. When we, as human beings, allow politics over human compassion, it is a sad, sad day in America. Unfortunately, I think that day has come. If any of us were burying our 9 year old child or any other family member because of the actions of an obviously untreated mentally ill person, would any of these things matter? The answer for me is no. Turn off the news and turn on your hearts. Come together as Americans, so love and compassion to neighbors and then perhaps we can turn this angry ship around. This political outcry and blame game has no place here. It reduces a nation to pettiness and that is very sad also. The outcry of blame becomes the rhetoric and we are all to blame for allowing it to continue.
ReplyDeleteAnnie, I agree that if any of us were burying a loved one today, politics would be the last thing on our minds.
ReplyDeleteBut sadly, it seems that the only time that our society takes a good hard look at our speech and our behavior is after a tragedy. From the assassinations of JFK, MLK & RFK to the bombing of the federal building in Oklahoma, to the school shooting in Columbine, Paducah & Virginia and not to Arizona, we struggle to search for answers to these tragedies.
Do we continue to grieve and not search for answers? Do we not blame anyone for these events? Do we just chalk them all up to mentally ill individuals? Or do we all, including myself, accept our role in fostering a society that breeds violence.
I would say that we, as individuals, do these things because they are the right things to do. As individuals, we also are held accountable and responsible for our own behaviors. Allowing politicians to think, say and feel for us and subscribing vehemently to one aisle or another is not only dangerous, but suffocating. Subscribing to one belief or political set of "rules" is exactly what the politicians what us to do. Our vision becomes angry, clouded and so divisive. Independence is lost and as I said earlier, we become sheep. Using a platform of such tragedy serves no one, doesn't bring up healthy discussion and "talk is cheap." Where are the actions to back this up? For example focusing on how many times this young man was brought to the attention of the Pima county sheriff's department and nothing was done? Therein lie we start to find answers to such a senseless tragedy. Watching our language shouldn't be something the government has to tell us. We should know better.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the point-counterpoint discussions Pam. Always delightful!
This is excellent, Pam. I appreciate at the end you do not direct this at any particular party, but think I'll add it to two of my posts, first this one: http://bit.ly/hsB3wu
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