The Delusion
I looked at my community, and everything was ruined.
I thought, "It's a conspiracy; it's someone else's doing."
Day by day, I blamed the world---angry and frustrated:
The "Man"; the cops; "society"... THEY were the ones who hated.
Everybody said the same, so that's what I believed;
but gradually it dawned on me that I might be deceived...
I watched the young men stealing; I watched the gangsters killing;
I watched the girls soliciting; I watched the dealers dealing;
I watched the children fighting; I listened to them swearing;
I watched my neighbors trash the streets---and sneer at me for caring.
The more I watched and listened, the more things became clearer:
"We've been looking through binoculars instead of in the mirror.
"Outside of our community, the world is getting on:
Folks of many colors and cultures get along.
What's separating us and them is not conspiracy
but fundamental differences in how we choose to be.
"If we could just be HONEST about how we really are
and work to CHANGE what isn't right in our OWN minds and hearts---
our behaviors and our values, the people we esteem---
we could end this nightmare and start to live the dream."
And after I had pondered and come to this conclusion,
I stepped into reality---and out of my delusion.
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