"The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed (and hence clamorous to be led to safety) by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins, all of them imaginary." ~ H.L. Mencken
An Ode to Anarchy
The causes of the powerful elite
Need not be the focus of the masses
Their cries for blood and retribution
Growing ever more bombastic
While good folk of modest means
Seek naught but peace and joy
Our rulers, in the folly of hubris
Bid us do their work, to pillage and destroy
They deem themselves fit to lead
But only from a distance
The lives of us and those abroad
Worth no more than a pittance
'Hark!' they cry 'No need to fear,
do let us entertain'
With smart bombs and piercing ammo
They do eagerly kill and maim.
'Do not you understand?' they bellow
'Our security is at stake!
He may do this, he could do that,
Such havoc he might make!'
Belligerence and intimidation
Are cloaked in terms that obfuscate
Preemption, disarmament, and liberation
Should pacify those who would advocate
A different way, one that acknowledges
The evil that we face
Without sacrificing helpless non-combatants
To Mars, a god so vile and base
That his visage should not be sought
Except in direst need
Namely when we must defend ourselves
From a threat that is imminent indeed.
The just of this world do not provoke,
Do not badger, scheme, or meddle,
They lead their lives in meek repose
And thus do lead by example.
They do not delude themselves or others
With talk of destiny and greatness
But rather inspire their friends and kin
With their generosity and kindness.
Their causes are immediate and tangible '
Companions, family, and homestead,
They see no need to sacrifice themselves or others
For abstract notions held high by men who are led
Not by the virtues of duty, honor, and valor
That they in public do keenly embrace
But by the base forces of greed and power
Forces so great that they erase
From their effete and sunken consciences any remnant
Of compunction, guilt, or shame.
Worse yet is that time
When these asses in lions' skins
Believe The Great Lie that they so proudly bray
And so cloak themselves in the garment of self-righteousness.
They make themselves adept
At calling upon others to do their bidding,
Yet when it is their turn to serve
They snort, 'Who are you kidding?
You've got to understand ' I'm too important to die,
Someone's got to direct the hostilities,
Someone needs to stay behind and tend
And besides, I've got other priorities.
Your needs and wants, on the other hand,
Are none of my concern,
Yours is but to do and die
And it's a lesson I'm sure you'll learn
Don't you know? You're in service to Leviathan,
The great and mighty State,
The engine of progress, freedom, and benevolence,
We're the ones who will decide your fate!'
No thank you, 'dear' Uncle Sam '
No kin of mine you are
But rather the bastard child
Of the evils known as Welfare and War.
You've caused much grief in your time
And are intent on more of the same
All too willing to brand as 'anti-American'
Those who will not play your perilous game.
Well, brand me as a traitor then,
I care not what you do!
You have no business telling me or others
What is right, and just, and true.
I need not bow, as you command,
To the god called Democracy,
To those with eyes to see
It's just another form of tyranny.
Yes, I say, tyranny '
Executed by both sword and pen
Through the ballot box, and the bully pulpit
Enslaving, not freeing, many millions of men.
Leave me be! I wish that I might
Be allowed to live in solitude and peace,
Permitted to keep that which I earn
And not, instead, fill the maw of the beast
Which grows ever larger, and sees us only as
Slaves, there to humor and obey,
To toil in its overwhelming shadow
By darkest night and bleakest day.
To pay homage to its presence
And pay tribute to those it holds dear
While those held in far lower regard
Pay a price every bit as great, year after year.
Leave us be! We cast aside your shackles
Your priests and sacred rites are to us of little worth
Instead we look forward to the time
When anarchy shall reign upon the earth,
Anarchy, I say ' not the presence of disorder
But self-rule, and respect for others' rights,
We, the faithful few, shall pursue that noble goal
It is firmly in our sights.