Democracy's Pillars

In marble halls where laws are etched in stone, Where freedom's song should echo, full and grown, A silence creeps, insidious and slow, As arts and letters wither, they are forced to go. For what is liberty without a voice? A hollow promise, absent reasoned choice. Democracy's not merely casting votes, It thrives on minds that question and take notes. When budgets slash the painter's vibrant hues, When libraries close and silence muses, The public square, once rife with fierce debate, Grows quiet, leaving choices to cruel fate. Without the poet's verse to stir the soul, Without the novelist's expansive scroll, How shall we see beyond our narrow view, To walk a mile in another's shoe? The tyranny of ignorance looms large, When the barge leaves critical thinking. For despots fear an educated mass, And cheer when arts and letters fail to pass. In schools where STEM alone is given sway, We risk producing citizens who'll say, "I know the 'how' but cannot fathom 'why'," As ethical dilemmas pass them by. So heed this warning, guardians of state: A democracy's strength cannot diminish. Fund every book, each play, and gallery, For these aren't luxuries, but necessity. Let children learn of Plato's cave so dark, Of Martin's dream, of Joan of Arc. For in these tales of struggle, loss, and strife, Democracy finds its pulse, its very life. Without the humanities' guiding light, Our ship of state sails blind into the night. So champion every word, brush stroke, and stage, Lest we become mere numbers on a page. For when arts flourish, so too does our voice, In the ballot box and beyond, we make our choice. Democracy's not given, it's hard-won, Sustained by letters, arts, when day is done.