Historical distance
allows for an anger
that gets blinded in today's
gaze; a rage that
the confident, yet timid
can feel safely
because it requires
no action.
The past was bad,
but the bad has past.
We are awakened now.
Reaping the benefits
of our grandparent's
protests.
But, no. That is not true.
Injustice persists, and
still we sit. We say,
in hindsight with such
confidence, "The holocost
this, and slavery that, pilgrims
and Native Americans, the Japanese
internment camps--"
the horror of those atrocities
we wear like the dated, rusty
souvenirs of our elder relations
that have been passed down--
they remain valuable in sentiment
only, as data, dates to remember;
because we do not recall
the visceral, humanity of those
tragedies, nor the hum-drum
monotony of the daily life
and times of those whose
lives like yours and mine,
assisted in allowing such
tragedies to occur,
by doing nothing.
But, lo, we have our own.
Here in 2018.
In the United States of America.
We have our own.
In the world; we have our own.
But understanding what is going on,
being informed, caring, and being outraged
is to accept responsibility for your part in
our shared existence.
To be angry is to say, "I cannot accept this, so
therefore I must take action."
And action is inconvenient, time-consuming, messy.
And there are myriad distractions
to help you look away...
to feign naive ignorance, but--
Hey, hello. I see you.
I saw you look the other way.
You caught injustice in the side of your eye,
as did I--together we both ignored it for a while
hoping others would fight that fight,
but now here we are.
And we must look at it,
at the environment our inaction has
allowed to permeate.
We have ignored it for too long.
Injustice is embedded into the DNA of the USA,
yes, but that doesn't mean we should
stop working for a cure.
Start by becoming one less symptom
of this oft-corrupt and unbalanced system
of States we hope to see one day as truly
United and for the good of all who
call its land a home.
allows for an anger
that gets blinded in today's
gaze; a rage that
the confident, yet timid
can feel safely
because it requires
no action.
The past was bad,
but the bad has past.
We are awakened now.
Reaping the benefits
of our grandparent's
protests.
But, no. That is not true.
Injustice persists, and
still we sit. We say,
in hindsight with such
confidence, "The holocost
this, and slavery that, pilgrims
and Native Americans, the Japanese
internment camps--"
the horror of those atrocities
we wear like the dated, rusty
souvenirs of our elder relations
that have been passed down--
they remain valuable in sentiment
only, as data, dates to remember;
because we do not recall
the visceral, humanity of those
tragedies, nor the hum-drum
monotony of the daily life
and times of those whose
lives like yours and mine,
assisted in allowing such
tragedies to occur,
by doing nothing.
But, lo, we have our own.
Here in 2018.
In the United States of America.
We have our own.
In the world; we have our own.
But understanding what is going on,
being informed, caring, and being outraged
is to accept responsibility for your part in
our shared existence.
To be angry is to say, "I cannot accept this, so
therefore I must take action."
And action is inconvenient, time-consuming, messy.
And there are myriad distractions
to help you look away...
to feign naive ignorance, but--
Hey, hello. I see you.
I saw you look the other way.
You caught injustice in the side of your eye,
as did I--together we both ignored it for a while
hoping others would fight that fight,
but now here we are.
And we must look at it,
at the environment our inaction has
allowed to permeate.
We have ignored it for too long.
Injustice is embedded into the DNA of the USA,
yes, but that doesn't mean we should
stop working for a cure.
Start by becoming one less symptom
of this oft-corrupt and unbalanced system
of States we hope to see one day as truly
United and for the good of all who
call its land a home.
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