the whole damn system is rotten to its core

[Kalidurga]

the whole damn system is rotten to its core
we need reform from shore to shore

brave souls crossed the sea to escape tyranny
but brought with them their bigotry

They created laws for the common w̶h̶i̶t̶e̶ man
making rank elites was the plan

They doled out freedom, the masses to allay
and proudly stand on feet of clay

They built in a Constitution of redress
it serves the needs of the noblesse

by custom, design, and with the law in place
they keep cover over their base

vile behavior to the victims is assigned
that keeps the eyes of justice blind

wars of aggression are launched with impunity
their station gives them immunity

They rob resources from the poor to feed the rich
wealth comes from hard work is the pitch

with silver spoons they feast on lies fed to them
those in their service they must condemn.

and for those that haven’t enough utility
they save the most hostility

their biggest fear is a level playing field
knowing that their power would yield

their hold on resources is with guns, germs, and steal
robbing from labor with much zeal

from a high horse they breath a rarefied air
it is but the stench of despair

And if the masses rise against oppression
they will stomp on any progression

with whips, hoses, and extrajudicial action
freedom has never gained traction

we all must be aware of the thin blue line
it hides the murderous incline

even when unarmed children lay dead in a street
we find justice wears a white sheet

just in case you haven't kept score
the whole damn system is rotten to its core

[SammyWinstonJack]

1. rec.

[Kalidurga]

2. Thank you

I edited for effect

[Octafish]

3. Read that at a poetry slam...

It would knock over the house. Thank you, Kalidurga!

[Kalidurga]

7. I should

I think an old lady reading a poem like that is rather shocking in a way.

[Octafish]

18. Very cool.

Someone's perfect child bringing truth and light.

[Cleita]

4. ...

[socialist_n_TN]

5. And here's a couplet for ya.....

The only solution,
Is socialist revolution!

[Kalidurga]

6. Thanks I agree

a revolution is coming. I think it is going to be on all fronts. It's in the streets and it's going to be also in the form of ballot initiatives.

[NightOwwl]

28. A revolution is playing their game by their rules.

They control the playing field, the players, the media, the wealth, the policies; it is an unwinnable battle.

A revolution plays into their need for power and control. It validates them as powerful and controlling.

They expect revolutions and are prepared for revolutions. Extreme measures are used when initial attempts to suppress are not successful.

I would love to see an election where no one voted. Their house of cards would come tumbling down.

Fuck them. I've already spent too many years of my life on their hamster wheel of insanity. I've decided to use my time and energy to spend with the people I love, instead. I'm not withdrawing from the world, I'm rejoining the world - but this time it is a world of my own making, a world where I decide what is important and what is not.

I am still processing your poem. It is extraordinary.

[TBF]

9. ...

[TBF]

8. Amen. nt

[niyad]

10. k and r and thank you.

[DeSwiss]

11. Yep, I been sayin'.....

- K&R

[Art_from_Ark]

21. The thing with forests is, they can be replanted or regenerated

The Mark Twain National Forest in Southwest Missouri, for example, was at one time a clear-cut wasteland, but the forest has been regenerated. People can use tree resources wisely, in a way that can guarantee sustainability for generations to come.

[kimbutgar]

12. Bravo, your words brought tears to my eyes for the truth you spoke tonight as I feel despair

[Dont call me Shirley]

13. The system is insane created and sustained by the insane power elite.

Why do we keep allowing a tiny cadre of insane people to run their insane system that rules our lives?

[fingrin]

15. Here is your answer

Hello there!
My name is Jacob Rothschild.
My Family is worth 500 trillion dollars
We own nearly every central bank in the world
We financed both side of the war since Napoleon

We own your news, the media,Your oil and your Government.

You have probably never heard of me.

[SoapBox]

16. Yup...

And that is very depressing.

[NightOwwl]

29. I thought about that for a long time.

I came to realize a lot of the anxiety I felt was generated by what I thought were truisms:

The belief the government was a valid authority who had more power over me than I had over myself.

The belief I was responsible for sharing the burden with the rest of the beasts for all the ills in the world.

I found these to be false.

I stopped paying attention to 'news' a few months ago. My health and well-being has improved immeasurably; I am happier, the people I love are happier - and it seems the world still rotating, even without my constant attention.

ymmv

[Dont call me Shirley]

30. The government is a tool for the billionaires and trillionaires. They are those who create the

system.

Government can be used for good, such as building roads, libraries, enforcing rules of common sense and courtesy; or it can be used for evil, such as intrusion into the most intimate aspects of everyone's lives, to bully people into submission, to torture simply to show authority over others, to steal the life energy of others for personal gain.

I refuse to take responsibility for those things that others do, period! We must all stop taking any and all responsibility for the heinous acts the ruling elite bullies.

Refuse to participate and their ugly games will dissolve into the thin oxygenless air they create.

[NightOwwl]

31. Don't call me Shirley, I surely love you

Refuse to participate and their ugly games will dissolve into the thin oxygenless air they create.

This, this...a thousand times this.

[Dont call me Shirley]

32. Love is all we need

[liberalmuse]

14. Truth.

[AverageJoe90]

17. Can't rec, sorry.

Mainly because of the historical untruth: no, the Constitution was NOT originally created for white slave/landowners only(in fact, ALL free male citizens were covered by the Bill of Rights, etc.), and any progressive worth his salt should know that.

Okay, I don't want to be too harsh, as this was a decent piece otherwise, but I'll admit that historical revisionism is one of my personal bugbears.

[F4lconF16]

19. 3/5 =/= 1.

If you can't see that, then I don't know what to tell you other than you're at the wrong site.

[AverageJoe90]

20. Compromises had to be made in the end, yes.

Like the "Slaves count for 3/5ths a citizen" thing, tragically so; political realities don't always allow for the best outcomes, in any era, as I'm sure our President himself has probably noticed. Can we at least be thankful for all the progress made since then?

[merrily]

25. Who the Constitution, on its face, seems to cover, is a different issue from who it was written for.

Of course, the literal words of the Bill of Rights did not expressly exclude anyone or expressly state that some would be treated better than others, but the Constitution was written by and for white male landowners who could afford poll taxes. It sure wasn't written for slaves or First Nations.

For just one other example of many that are possible, women could not even sit on juries then, so women who were accused of crimes certainly never got a jury of their peers. So, no, due process was never intended for women of any race in the same way that it was for white men and it certainly wasn't intended for slaves.

At the time the Constitution went into effect, only about 6% of the population was even entitled to vote, let alone hold office. A good part of the population, including slaves and all women, had almost no rights, nor were they intended to.

And, bear in mind, the Bill of Rights was not even in the original constitution but was was demanded ASAP as a condition of ratification. And I expect the promise to furnish it ASAP was kept mostly because the willingness and ability of the common people to overthrow the government, by force, if necessary, was then quite fresh in everyone's minds, including the minds of the 1% (then maybe the 10-15%). Rich people didn't even have to go to war if drafted. They could pay a poor person to go in their place, and, if need be, to die or be maimed in their place.

Some have always been more equal than others and have always had their rights respected more than others. One need only follow Madison's remarks during the secret meetings of the Constitutional convention--or just open one's eyes and look around--to see that. In those meetings, Madison is clear that as much power as possible should be kept out of the hands of even the 6% who could vote at the time. Hence the Senate, then elected by state legislatures, was given more power than the House.

None of the above is revisionism. It's reality. If you want to rely on the fact that the literal wording of the constitution did not spell all that out expressly, you certainly can, but I don't think the literal wording reflected the reality, then or now.

[AverageJoe90]

27. You missed the point that I was making. Did you even read what I'd wrote?

Yes, by the way, I took into full account that women could not vote(except in New Jersey, apparently, and maybe only on the local level, at that), and many blacks were not citizens at all, thanks to being enslaved, etc.....I took ALL that into account when writing that(which you apparently totally missed).

But the original content of the Constitution was actually pretty clear, regardless of revisionist attempts to claim otherwise(btw, you do realize that "only wealthy WASP men were supposed to have rights" was originally an extreme right-wing revisionist fantasy, right?). Amongst free men, at least, there was no intended denial of voting rights, implied or otherwise. That is EXACTLY how it was supposed in the end, regardless of what you may have heard or read(and even if some of the individual founders had their own disagreements with each other). Yes, again, political realities of the day didn't allow the Constitution to live up to(all free men voting in all states, for one), and yes, even beyond, it's intended potential then, and even many of the Founders themselves realized that; there was more than the most literal interpretation to the old "a Revolution every 20 years" saying.

I've read into this stuff enough over the years to know what I'm talking about.....and it seems you and I have read two entirely different sets of sources(btw, have you been reading Gerald Horne's "1776"?). Which is unfortunate, because as it stands, I happen to have the better understanding of the "big picture", as it were.

[Mnemosyne]

22. K&R for more visibility. nt

[seveneyes]

23. Idiom Overkill

At this time in space, I only have a temporary response ...

[Kalidurga]

26. Very good nt

[me b zola]

24. K&R