Some Words With You

The Gift Of Learning

When I was young the world was very strange
I was often afraid of things
Thought some simple deeds were in fact a danger
Misunderstood reality more often than not
Made mistakes
As frequently as I did what was right
Now in old age
I am moulded into a different existence
Not to imply mastery of my destiny
But simply to suggest I now understand more clearly
When I am wrong
For this knowledge I will forever thank my teachers
Who not only taught me about the world
But helped me to understand myself
I do not name them here
But they are with me now, each one
Correcting my spelling
Helping me to say something in a better way
Telling the story of the place where i live
Or helping me realise an error is not world’s end
So here I am, an outcome…
I learnt my basics rather well, in all their forms
But better still, I learned to think
To look for solutions
Rather than throw up my hands in despair
How can I thank these wonderful friends
Now at this time so distant from that first learning?
My answer is a humble one:
Rejoice in doing what I have learnt to do
As long as my life lasts
And do what I can
Whenever I can
To support and respect the teachers of today

Reason And Research

The power of the mind to think
To understand
And form judgements
Is what makes all the difference
What distinguishes us from lesser creatures
Some fellow humans however are not keen to do this
And would prefer
To let others think for them
Dutifully and often
They tune in and hand their thought processes over
To well paid architects of other people’s ideas
Who tell them what they should believe
The approved line of thought befitting the social agenda
Of the rich and powerful rulers of their lives
That is how things go
Indoctrination is so skilful
You are taught how to seem to think in the desired manner
And how to condemn appropriate enemies
All this linked to how you vote
So that the wheels of the nation
Run closely according to the pre-determined plan
Of the powerful…
Some people though
Just a few of the populace
As part of their struggle
Have a dream of a better world created by logic
And awareness of the needs of all
Not a mere fortunate few
Those voices grow louder every day
Because they are linked to reason and research
Listen carefully
You can hear them
Rising above the din of orchestrated ignorance
Wisdom is an exciting occurrence
It attracts you when you give it a chance
That is why the times just now are beautifully changing

The Rhetoric Of Slander

Have you heard him lately, ranting?
How violent his words are
Falling from his mouth like daggers!
He finds more enemies to berate
Than you will see in all the conflicts of history
Notice how he operates:
You find a flaw in what he does
And he finds an enemy who errs more
Usually a friend or ally of the critic
Then comes the flood of verbal violence
As the rafters ring with his poison of condemnation
He speaks with no pauses
Wondrously obviating the need to breathe
Listing like an auctioneer on stimulants
The crimes and flaws and omissions
Of his chosen, conveniently cursed adversary
And so the game of politics progresses
Rules bent occasionally or ignored
By the party currently in power
How strange would courtesy be
If it should suddenly appear!
Instead of violent argument
Simply an exchange of ideas with a noble purpose:
The benefit of mankind
One day, some day, it might happen
On that currently venomous stage
A dream of thinkers surprisingly realised
When the foe on the left will be right
And the rival on the right, left to acknowledge the truth
Or vice versa
O how this change would echo through the ages!
The dignity of man would suddenly be restored in glory
Worthy of Elysium
Then humanity’s fate would be in the hands
Not of combatants but confederates who care about each other
For the benefit of us all

Flawed Data

There is a new virus abroad
Beware of it
It is very dangerous and in fact it can kill
There have already been many instances of infection
Right across our social structure
From the unskilled worker to the very top, yes even to a president
Its early form has been abroad in the community
For a significant time
The symptoms are quite a worry:
Erratic behaviour, disjointed speech, and irrational outbursts
The causes are well known:
Small samples, incomplete investigation, and lack of peer review
Faulty science is the common name
For years this disease has been in our lives
But in recent times, the FD variant, is now a major problem
Yes, flawed data is the challenging complication
People who catch this virus
Often are doing things they will later regret
Those infected are tending to stage wild demonstrations
Without social distance
Have lots of fights
And promote angry images in an aggressive atmosphere
That triggers political action based basically on non sequiturs
All because of faulty figures
So that is the story
Misinformation is the problem as it leads the whole world astray
I say again flawed data
When you follow its lead, despair is often a consequence
Yet
There is a message in all of this
Think hard before you hurl anger at others
Be fair and kind to your opponents
As fools are not the only makers of mistakes
You yourself can be the bridge
Tread carefully as you struggle to be wise
Check the facts and watch your fortunes rise

Bewilderment

Life has many confusions
Each day there seem to be more
People like me struggle to understand
Why we do
So many of the things that we do
For example
Why is anger a part of every waking hour?
Day after day
Someone on television
Rages with untrammelled violence
About a mistake another person has made
With the light of his own virtue in his eyes
And then there is the weather
When greeting each other
These days
People don’t remark on a lovely day any more
Perhaps this is
Because of the flood, fire and tempest we see so often…
The greatest puzzle
However
Most striking above everything else
Is why so many people in the same mould as us
Die in poverty of hunger
Little children and old folk just like me
And everyone in between
While I celebrate with ample food and comfort
In a fortunate land
What can I do about this?
I am impotent
My body is not what it was
And retirement has set gently in
Words are all I have
To share in the hope that someone with the power to change
Will remove my bewilderment

royciebaby