James Moore Poet Narrative

Notes About The Poem

In the Name of Progress

(“Utopia and Terror Merit Badge”, 2010, original oil)

If progress is the transformation of oppression,
And the human condition one of
Primordial oppression - due to the inherent limits of our physical, emotional and mental nature -
Then human progress has been with us all along,
Albeit in very human fits and starts. 

So progress is liberty
And liberty, inherently progressive.

But that’s not the progress being pushed today.
The progress of 21st century America
Is one of greater authority,
Lesser autonomy,
As an all-knowing Nanny State 
So compassionately helps us less knowing. 

What is real progress? 
Freedom, from the master/slave dynamic
Which has been the human lot from the beginning.

What is being done in the name of progress today?
The relationship of master and slave cemented
In not just custom and law, 
But personal habits and ideals.

Thou shalt obey what your master tells you,
It’s in your DNA after all to follow the shepherd
For the greater good of the herd.
It doesn’t matter that the shepherd has changed,
It’s the nature of all religion.

Thou shalt obey,
Because obedience is next to godliness,
Especially the godliness of Marx’s
Anointed disciples, the masters
Of not only their destiny
But increasingly every slave’s as well.

Thou shalt obey,
Because some things - collective wellbeing,
Social justice, environmental stewardship -
Require individual sacrifice
For the greater security of the herd
And of course, the enshrined status of the master.

(9/4/26)

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