I Can'T Breathe - a Rant
I CAN’T BREATHE
I am being suffocated by causes.
Will we march Quixote-like
enraged by the spinning of the windmills?
We protest the wars carrying placards
while expecting others to carry arms,
praise God and worship Jesus while
condemning all others to eternal damnation.
How many would offer to abort – an abortion –
by offering to adopt the child at birth,
feed the hungry at their own kitchen table,
stage a “die-in” in the lobbies of academia
demanding they empty their cash filled
endowment accounts – and give to the poor,
clothe the naked, drill wells for the thirsty.
In our effort to “Celebrate Diversity” are we
selectively excluding those who are just
too diverse for us? Must we sacrifice our
history and culture on the altar of inclusiveness?
Perhaps, in time, our exhalations will become
toxic to an environment devoid of trees to
balance our co-dependent existence.
Why are the rights of the 1% minority less
important than those of the 99% who claim
to be in the majority. Are not politicians corrupt
by the very nature of the political power structure?
Should we vote blindly because we do not
listen – only hear what we want to hear,
sit in the eye of the hurricane of apathy
warning all of the dangers outside of it,
tax the poor to fund programs for the poor,
subsidize farmers to grow less to keep the
prices high, rail against compromises in
the privacy laws while posting our lives
on Face Book, twitter, and u-tube.
Have we forgotten the cries of the oppressed:
“No more genocides, no more holocausts”,
turned our backs, averted our eyes
lest we see the horror we negligently condone.
Will we black out all our bumper stickers,
discard all of our tee shirts, assist the
elderly shopper in reaching the high shelf,
pick up after our pets – or even more
spiritually – pick up after someone else,
speak to the disheveled panhandler –
if only briefly - to say good morning,
contribute more than money and
three cans of tuna to the food drive,
assist voters to the polls regardless
of their political leanings, allow those
who do not see our concerns as having
any real value their opinion. Will we(I)
be their when the marches are over,
the media bored with the cause, the
placards torn and faded, the enthusiasm
waning as work, school, exams, life –
and the living of it – move us back to
the eye of the maelstrom, the safety of
conformity, the “peace” of acquiescence.
Or will we scream each morning
“LET US BREATHE”. Let us breathe
life and passion and power into our
day, reach out and “BE CAUSE”,
stay the course lest the ship lose
it heading, run aground on the shoals
of false satisfaction at how involved
we were, how much we accomplished.
Will we breathe the breath of truth,
of freedom, of love, of peace, of unity
across this land reaching to the shores
and forests of our world, reaching to
touch the hand of that stranger
who lives next door.
John G. Lawless
12/13/2014
Copyright © John Lawless | Year Posted 2014
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