A Totalitarian Totality

("Anagogical Moments Merit Badge", 2011, original oil) A Totalitarian Totality Have you ever wondered why so many these days Are trying to save the world, Tell you what to think, or say or do And cancel you when you say no, or simply why? The short answer is that’s just what totalitarians do, Totalitarian control and conformity Being their highest agenda after all. Does it matter if they are right And you are wrong? Of course not since truth is now a relative thing Yours and/or mine being just ‘our truth’. But if a truth is simply our truth, As an equally valid subjective take on reality, Leaving its objective merit apparently up to majority rule, Then what has become of objective truth, You know the old fashioned kind Which doesn’t rely on causes and conditions Doesn’t need to be learned or defended to be Simply THE truth? That is so 20th century! We live now in a Brave New World Where our individual courage and integrity Is never in question since it’s never required. In a world of only relative truths Everything exists on a spectrum With the full rainbow of sights and sounds welcome At least in theory if not in practice. When was the last time you saw a sign saying, “Gays for Hitler!” While you now see them saying, “Gays for Hamas”, When Hitler and Hamas are in essence the same? But that’s the crux isn’t it? A truly tolerant and inclusive world view Would embrace it all As equally true (thus assumedly valid), But that’s not how the real world operates Nor how anyone wants it to. Objective truth might be an inherently difficult thing to define, But a simple thought experiment as the above Shows us that our gut knows What our head can so easily confuse. What else is out there? What else is there to know? Comrade, rest easy, those questions Are above our pay-grade. Just wait until the authorities tell us what to think, say and do. We wouldn't want you cancelled too... (8/19/24)