| SHARED SACRIFICE THE JOURNAL OF PROGRESSIVE THOUGHT 12 FEBRUARY 2009 |
Dust Thou Art...
In the village adjacent
to the concentration
camp townsfolk watched
the daily prisoner parade
down countless railroad car
ramps through the gates
of a place too small to hold them,
lambs, not one of which ever
returned.
The townsfolk lived in the shadow
of the smokestack gushing ash
and smoke in a steady stream.
They must have breathed the sweet,
sickly smell of hell but never asked
what went on inside because
they were afraid someone might tell
them.
And in their cleanly way
rushed outside every day
to feather dust away
ash that settled nightly
on brightly-flowered window
sills, then dash inside
to their neat and tidy lives
pretending not to know
they lived next door
to a crematorium.
When the camp was
liberated at last
the townsfolk gasped
in surprise and disgust,
but they had all that ash
on their feather dusters.
...and to dust thou shalt return.
In the village adjacent
to the concentration
camp townsfolk watched
the daily prisoner parade
down countless railroad car
ramps through the gates
of a place too small to hold them,
lambs, not one of which ever
returned.
The townsfolk lived in the shadow
of the smokestack gushing ash
and smoke in a steady stream.
They must have breathed the sweet,
sickly smell of hell but never asked
what went on inside because
they were afraid someone might tell
them.
And in their cleanly way
rushed outside every day
to feather dust away
ash that settled nightly
on brightly-flowered window
sills, then dash inside
to their neat and tidy lives
pretending not to know
they lived next door
to a crematorium.
When the camp was
liberated at last
the townsfolk gasped
in surprise and disgust,
but they had all that ash
on their feather dusters.
...and to dust thou shalt return.
The Price
I wish John
Lennon had lived
to Imagine us into
21st century bliss,
that we'd all joined
hands and started a
Love Train with
the O'Jays in 1976,
that we'd run head
first into that wind
Dylan insisted the
answer was blowin' in,
or that like Marvin
Gaye we'd asked
What's Goin' On?
instead of giving in.
I wish John
Lennon had lived
to Imagine us into
21st century bliss,
that we'd all joined
hands and started a
Love Train with
the O'Jays in 1976,
that we'd run head
first into that wind
Dylan insisted the
answer was blowin' in,
or that like Marvin
Gaye we'd asked
What's Goin' On?
instead of giving in.
Just because
our attacks in Iraq
are more modern, expensive
shock and awe combat
conducted long distance
with the most high-tech
overwhelming force to be had
as we strike
with "surgical precision"
in the streets of Baghdad
does not make us
more morally advanced
than kidnappers, beheaders
and suicide bombers
whose performances are
demonized
while ours are under-reported.
our attacks in Iraq
are more modern, expensive
shock and awe combat
conducted long distance
with the most high-tech
overwhelming force to be had
as we strike
with "surgical precision"
in the streets of Baghdad
does not make us
more morally advanced
than kidnappers, beheaders
and suicide bombers
whose performances are
demonized
while ours are under-reported.
Caveat Emptor
(or The Poisoned Apple)
There is a difference
between politics and policy.
Take care that you know
the difference between the two.
When they talk about "hope"
and "change" and say "Yes we can",
that's politics, they haven't told you
what they actually plan to do,
which is policy.
Politics is public diplomacy,
a form of public relations
designed to sell actual policy
whether it's to Americans
or to other nations. It's used
many times to effect change,
regime change, that is.
Then it's called psyops, or
psychological operations.
It's a means to conduct covert business
where the buyer may not want the product
and so must be manipulated into buying it,
and depending on what and who's being sold,
the sales pitch can be hard or delicate,
ranging from buzz words and talking points,
festivities surrounding presidential elections
and propaganda planted in media
as a means of new product introduction
to the hard sell of false flags and proxy wars
to effect a foreign government's destruction.
Let's review.
Politics is the sales pitch.
Policy is the new product.
Politics is the means to promote policy,
which is the unstated end of this process.
Thus politics, the talk, may be
completely at odds with policy, the walk.
There's difference between politics and policy.
(or The Poisoned Apple)
There is a difference
between politics and policy.
Take care that you know
the difference between the two.
When they talk about "hope"
and "change" and say "Yes we can",
that's politics, they haven't told you
what they actually plan to do,
which is policy.
Politics is public diplomacy,
a form of public relations
designed to sell actual policy
whether it's to Americans
or to other nations. It's used
many times to effect change,
regime change, that is.
Then it's called psyops, or
psychological operations.
It's a means to conduct covert business
where the buyer may not want the product
and so must be manipulated into buying it,
and depending on what and who's being sold,
the sales pitch can be hard or delicate,
ranging from buzz words and talking points,
festivities surrounding presidential elections
and propaganda planted in media
as a means of new product introduction
to the hard sell of false flags and proxy wars
to effect a foreign government's destruction.
Let's review.
Politics is the sales pitch.
Policy is the new product.
Politics is the means to promote policy,
which is the unstated end of this process.
Thus politics, the talk, may be
completely at odds with policy, the walk.
There's difference between politics and policy.
There is
no moral discount available
for causing death and destruction
of a country wholesale.
And our values are not superior
because we pretend not to see
and don't show our handiwork on TV
in spite of the fact
there's nothing left to see
but the infinitesimal
litter of humanity.
Denying the magnitude
and ferocity of our kills,
swaggering, bragging
about the freedom we'll instill
doesn't place us
on a higher plane of morality
than antiquated
in-plain-sight tactics
used by the "insurgency".
no moral discount available
for causing death and destruction
of a country wholesale.
And our values are not superior
because we pretend not to see
and don't show our handiwork on TV
in spite of the fact
there's nothing left to see
but the infinitesimal
litter of humanity.
Denying the magnitude
and ferocity of our kills,
swaggering, bragging
about the freedom we'll instill
doesn't place us
on a higher plane of morality
than antiquated
in-plain-sight tactics
used by the "insurgency".
SUPERIOR FORCE
| STRAIGHT TALK ABOUT IMPERIALISM POETRY 12 February 2009 by Vi Ransel |
Einsatzeinheit Vienna, 2006, George W.
Bush visit. Photo by ernstl from Graz,
Austria
Bush visit. Photo by ernstl from Graz,
Austria
Photo by Cpl Robert R. Attebury, USMC
Copyright 2009 Shared Sacrifice Media
Copyright 2009 Shared Sacrifice Media
Copyright 2009 Shared Sacrifice Media
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