Some More Comments On Life

What Is Not Real

You proposition us
Pretend to offer us a solution for life
As if you can provide it
But it’s balderdash for sale
Fabrication is a better term
Mission statements for corporations
Disguised as democracy
Your technique is quite remarkable
Our ears are battered by fake catch-cries
Freedom, truth, for the good of the nation,
Small government, no taxes, free enterprise
While all the time
You feed our life savings into corporate power
All that matters to you really
Is the dirge of cash registers
From a score written in Wall Street
Everything we do
Adds grist to a sinister mill
Weapons to war mongers
Heat to global warmers
Profits to third world exploiters
But wait a minute
There’s a revolution in my closet
I’ve had enough of this
All my long life I’ve paid my taxes
Been truly sick on sick leave
Voted diligently when required
And paid off all my debts
But now I’ve had enough
My ninetieth birthday has been and gone
I no longer drive
I no longer work for a living
My children are adults now
And my old dog is dead
So what can I do?
What can I organise to make my point?
That’s It. I have it!
I’ll go for a swim
And get out of my depth in the water

On Paul Robeson

But I keeps laffin’ instead of cryin’
I must keep fightin’ until I’m dyin’
And Ol’ Man River, he’ll just keep rollin’ along!
Paul Robeson 1938 version of Ol’ Man River

Voice of Jim Crow
That still echoes in the cacophony
Of racist overlords
Brave soul
Who spoke up for justice
In the face of Red Scare persecution
Singer of songs
That laugh in the face of bigotry
Student of law
Where black men were not previously welcome
Man of stage and film
Who led spirits demeaned through colour
Towards victory over prejudice
You are now a part of my life
A beacon
A light in the darkness
Of political deceit
Even though your last years were further stained
By persecution
I still see and hear you…
When,
Tormented by the follies of elite prejudices,
I need you most
You are by my side
As racial undertones
Pervade the climate in which I live
An example for my role
In my old age
Where the loneliness of insignificance
Haunts me
Until I think of your voyage
Down the river of truth and hope
And I rise again on a journey still in progress

Reality

How strange!
What seems to be
Is not what it is at all
That celebrity
Who has just died
Was treated with public acclaim
Honours of the highest order
Came his way
In a lifetime crowned with status
All based on lies
That history decries
A militarist with a Peace Prize
A political schemer
With infinitely sullied status
A murderer
On a vast scale
Yes
Millions died as direct outcomes of his deeds
Moulded by his dark and sinister desires
A deadly result
Of his tainted guidance
This advisor whose advice was laced with doom
Has yet gained fame
So who was this man?
No name is provided here
As that label is ingrained in history
The infamy of his life rings round the world still
On bated breath
He was
A symbol of officialdom
Used to being heeded
For that is the power
The ugly potential
Of this warmonger nonpareil
So let us cast his memory aside
To sanctify
The exploits of each future guru with power

Inverted Totalitarianism*

Who rules us?
Who tells us what to do or what not to do?
Is it the parliament?
No. Despite appearances
Is it the law?
Well yes, but often only after intense struggle
Who is it then?
What is the real source of control over us?
The answer is giant corporations
Corporate entities that are rich and media powerful
Look at global warming…
What a struggle it has been to quell CO2 profits!
Look at the military industrial complex…
What a vast profit nuclear submarines will generate!
Look at education…
Learning is now a business and what a market price it has!
Look at health…
What a collector’s item Medicare is in an otherwise expensive zone!
Look at media…
What immense power is one man’s in devilish dominance there!
Look at logging…
What a travesty lucrative moonscapes in forests are!
And look at sport
What a ruthless enterprise it is. Lose and you are sacked!
So that’s it then
Money is the route of all upheaval
Lobbyists, financial advisers, auction specialists,
Fundraisers, cash posters, business reporters
Are all foot soldiers in the war
That is the norm of our existence
There is a hierarchy controlling change
It is a tyrannical, oppressive, repressive, absolute system
Disguised as democracy
Cunningly didactic and professing historic validity
But all the while dominating
With road maps for the rich and powerful

*The American scholar and philosopher Sheldon Wolin coined this term.

As Aristotle Said*

So
Rule by the masses
As so-called democracy
Can be a problem
If the people heed a demagogue
Who holds them in the palm of a greedy hand
And bends them to his will
Far better is rule by the nonpareil
Aristocracy in other words
An elite
Whose wisdom and knowledge can protect the world
Why is this so?
It is all a matter of vulnerability
Brainwashing of the naive multitude
Is so often so easy for the corrupt rabble-rouser
The scheming self-promoting impresario
With the gift of covert persuasion
One who controls the hoi polloi easily
To match his own agenda
Look around you
Notice the examples of this calamity:
Hitler
Mussolini
And others who craftily trump any valid argument
Promoting wisdom and virtue
Alas therefore
The majority is so frequently wrong
More often than not indeed
And subject to persuasion
By crafty, egomaniacal soapbox orators
So let us then seek rulers who deserve to rule
Tested by criteria beyond self interest
Valid leaders
Who have earned their place
By age and demonstrated wisdom
And to be chosen
Solely by elderly citizens accredited with seniority
Insights of the venerable then can be the true wisdom of the ages

*He saw democracy as rule by the common people in their own interests.

royciebaby