February 27, 2004

On the smoldering pyre of public health madness,
Smokers’ rights were torturously extinguished.

In the poorly-adjusted sights of public safety aims,
Gun owners’ rights were targeted and shot down.

To control gambling addiction and keep debts manageable,
Government ventured to load the dice before they rolled.

In fairness to poor and under-privileged public school children,
Over-privileged private schools were taken to the woodshed.

To prohibit alcoholism and arrest prospective drunken driving,
Drinker’s rights dried up for a ride on the unwelcome wagon.

In an effort tailored to shape up and trim down the public waistline,
Goodies and treats were labeled ‘bad for you,’ or ‘health threats.’

To guarantee the inalienable rights of minorities in a democracy,
The majority was required to submit to the will of the minority.

For the cleaner sweep sakes of public streets, parks, and sidewalks,
Chewing gum was obliged to pop inside in order to stick around.

To increase the long-term welfare of tomorrow’s children,
Today’s reproduction may shortly be strictly supervised.

For the protection of an employee’s privacy rights in the workplace,
All employing businesses should prepare to be closely scrutinized.

Affirming true diversity in schools, the workplace, and in public service
May be best achieved by assigning schools, jobs, and elected offices.

To contain the imminent potential spread of communicable diseases,
A patient’s diagnosis must presume disease until health is proven.

As restitution for past high crimes and misdemeanors,
Politicians shall resign themselves to higher office.

To exemplify the inhuman indecency of holding humans captive,
Children of slaves may indenture the children of slaveholders.

In order to preserve the fluid freedoms of speech and expression,
Rigid yet unspecific speech guidelines will be carved in stone.

To protect the unwitting consumer from unscrupulous big business,
Small business must henceforth be witlessly nipped in the bud.

In the defense of enduring freedom and homeland security,
A man’s castle will become his prison - if he can keep it.

With so many wars to fight, it’s unpatriotic and antichristian to want peace:
So love thy neighbor at thy own risk, brother, and make ready thy sword.

(Hark! What sordid lunacy is this that oozes, grotesquely, from my benighted keyboard?
Methinks that it doth not protest enough in jest, and a tragedy is waiting in the wings.)

When popular insanity prevails, who dares to speak openly against it?
Is there too high a price to pay for freedom of thought or of speech?

Stand up for your persecuted brother, or follow him into captivity.
Liberty does not differentiate between party, ethnicity or creed.

The radical knows that violence is its own reward, that conscience is sacred,
That freedom is the sole hope remaining in the Pandora’s box of politics.

“All men die, but only a few really live,” to quote Mel Gibson’s Braveheart.
So true: how many men value freedom enough to die rather than lose it?

Love, freedom and respect are self-fulfilling prophecies; they invite reciprocation.
Think of “Mutually Assured Destruction”, only in reverse. Is there a choice?

(Editor's note: This article was previously published at The SierraTimes)

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