what we say when we talk about taking sides

every rule,
every idea,
every misconception
is of our own design.

the world we see around us
is our own invention.
we have let it come to this.

the laws we disagree with,
the politicians holding office,
gas prices,
our not so friendly neighbors,
it is all our fault.

we fall for the hype
and stand in long lines to
receive our just
dues
because we created the
world we are living in.

this is what happens when
complacency takes
precedence over
effort.
when it is easier to
live and let live.
when we fumble the ball
and hand over the game.
when we lose the will
to refuse.

this is our boredom,
our fundamental approach
to saving the world -
everything happening
as long as we don't have
to fight too much
for what we are given.

pay your ticket before
you are proven guilty.
accept your punishment before
a crime was committed.
execution before the
facts were gathered.

we allow this to happen to
our friends.
we allow this to happen to
our lovers.
we allow this to happen to
our children.

we don't put up too much fuss
and we teach the same complacency
to future generations
and they
in turn
teach the approach to
their future generations
and we eventually
become
automatons
jacking off in circles
for a bleak future
that no one ever intended.
you can see some of it now.
small parts of our laws
are becoming
confused,
rearranged,
spun in every direction
to benefit
the lawmakers.

the more money you have,
the less you have to pay attention
to laws.
the more money you have,
the more laws you get to
indoctrinate into an
already failing system
to keep the
little people in line.
the more money you have,
the longer you get to live
to keep the peasants
in check.

we are the pets of bankers
and politicians.
we are the pawns of
corporations
and secret societies
made up to always keep
us wondering
if we're being told the truth.
we are attended to by
ghost stories
and alien abductions
in an effort to
keep us off track.
we are misled and misinformed
and we let it all
come down to this.

we argue about whether it
should be called
Global Warming
or
Climate Change
while the smog lifts over our heads
and the oceans run thick with garbage
and the water supply dwindles because
they're cleaning the shit off of their machines.
we argue about bullshit when it is
clear that we're fucking up
our
world for profit gains and stock prices.
so it doesn't matter what it's called
when your kids can't breath
and finding a clean glass of water is likened
to how fast
a soda company can bottle it.

we pick sides on a failing battle.
we discuss evolution and creation
when it is quite clear we're monkeys
tossing shit around at each other
from the top of social ladders,
bent to make a buck at all costs.

clever slogans and disposable income
when we can't decide who
we should invade in the
next all out war with
oil and territory.

we seem to find bad guys
everywhere we turn and can't imagine they're
being planted into our imagination
by villains hoping
we'll look the other way.

it is hard to laugh when
you realize we're ding this
to ourselves.