MAKE TIME TO CARE

I know you're a good person; I suspect you do care.
And I understand, sometimes it's difficult to stay aware.
We, most of us, have troubles of our own to distract us;
No fault of our own, it's just what the fact is:

It's difficult to earn a living, and make ends meet,
To raise our children, and keep them on their feet,
To be faced with illness, death, divorce, a job loss,
And all of those bills that we wish we could toss.

But a start would be to question our lot.
To find out how we ended up in this spot.
It's not just "life," or "the way things are;"
There's a truer, deeper explanation, by far.

You'll never see it in our media or "news,"
They keep on showing us the same old views.
Interesting; we never see anything new,
Like someone talking about what we could do.

There's a reason for that, but I won't digress.
I want to use this message to address
Ways that you and I might become informed
Amidst all the distractions that around us swarm.


Sometimes we find little time or energy
For questioning things; reading up on policy.
But as hectic as life sometimes does get,
I bet you find time to turn on a TV set.

One of two ways to becomed informed, the truth see,
Is to simply turn OFF your TV,
And not be bombarded by propaganda posing as "news,"
Where TV personalities (not journalists) espouse distorted views.

Mass media is owned by the powerful & wealthy.
They certainly don't care if you're free or healthy.
As long as the profits keep rolling in
They'll "report" the "news" with appropriate spin
To satisfy those to whom they're beholden:
Their owners, whose bank accounts are golden.

Who are these owners of our media corp.?
Would it surprise you to learn that their business is war?
Weapons manufacturers and defense contractors buy
The air waves and information that comes to your eye.

GE and Westinghouse to name but two.
They are complicit in war by what they do.
They use their ownership of our TV
To ensure that all citizens will heartily agree
That wars we fight in lands overseas
Are "right and just," so they may do as they please.

"So what?" you might say, "How does this affect me?"
While the bills go unpaid, and you work jobs 2 & 3.
It leaves you with little time to consider
Why our press is "free" ~ to the highest bidder.

While liberty is thwarted here at home,
To ensure that from the masses they'll hear no groan,
Our government pounds propaganda into your head
So you'll not regard the civilian dead.
They'll convince you that you must give up your rights
To keep us safe, while it's terror we fight.


This does affect you, and it affects "freedom's ring,"
Just try to speak out & you'll see what I mean.
The "Patriot Act" silences dissent,
While innocent blood overseas is spent.

It affects you because you're human, with inherent dignity.
And you are morally connected to all humanity.
And while our government fights wars abroad in our name,
Innocents there are being killed and maimed.

9/11 was a great tragedy,
And thousands died from that plotted killing spree.
The loss of innocent life never seems to make sense,
But is comfort ever found in ruthless vengeance?

When we bomb to smithereens the countries we blame
For harboring the terrorists who flew those fateful planes,
We too are killing innocents and taking away
Someone else's loved one, in just the same way.

If vengeance is the ugly rule to obey,
Then can we stop when we've killed, let's say
Three times as many innocents as they ~
The terrorists who flew the planes that day?

Or ten times as many, would that allay
Our lust for vegeance, can we stop on that day?
Will it magically bring to book
The terrorists who seem to elude our hook?

It hasn't so far, and the numbers keep growing
Of civilian deaths, and the dollars keep flowing
Into the bank accounts of those who gain
From fear, and wars fought in our name.


So turn off your TV if nothing else you will do.
Or, WAIT! I haven't mentioned solution # 2:
Instead of watching mass media lie,
There's another alternative you might like to try.

You could spend some of your TV time at home
Watching programming that is widely renowned
For its journalistic integrity and know-how;
That program is called "Democracy Now!"

If there's news being made, they're allowed to report it.
They aren't beholden to hide or distort it.
They are owned by the public, not a small coterie
Of businessmen deciding what's fit for us to see.


If you take my advice, then you will surely see
How the rest of the world suffers from our hegemony.
And it's no disrespect to our country to know
What our government does, and the terror it sows.

In fact, LOVE of our country is cause to inspire
A patriot true to further inquire
How the character of our nation is damaged
When life, liberty, and justice are ravaged.

So take an hour a day to dwell
Upon the news of the world; not the lies mass media sells.
And see if you are not moved in some way
To stand up and let justice have its day.

Weather in our back yard, or some country abroad,
Let it be freedom and justice we laud.
Let us be stewards of liberty and truth,
Not seeking vengeance with force so brute.

I know that you will probably agree
That to respond to the 9/11 tragedy
Shouldn't warrant more innocent lives lost
Just so we can show the world "who's boss."

We want to see justice, but does that mean
That an Iraqi girl dies, while her mother screams?
Isn't ONE innocent too many to die?
How about thousands, would that redden your eye?
Or hundreds of thousands, aren't we starting to see
That the war in Iraq is insanity?

When you allow some false notion of
Patriotism to kill your love
For all of the children on earth's face
You have allowed hate, your love to replace.

And the world doesn't need another "patriotic" hater
Who thinks, "kill 'em all!  God will sort it out later."
That's just the kind of mentality
That starts terrorism, can't you see?

Is your life worth more than an Iraqi life?
Is the value of a life decided by strife?
If you're someone we're fighting, then your life is worth nil,
But if American, then your blood should not spill?
 
How evil is that?  Think of it: WAR.
Innocents die while we "even the score."
There are no words to describe the cost
Of the blood that is shed, and the lives that are lost.

"You are DOOMED if America you doubt!"
Is that the war cry we want to shout?
Is this the noble cause of freedom:
Take all who disagree, and kill & bleed 'em?

Remember who profits and gains from all this:
It's that coterie who refuse to desist.
And they will make sure it keeps on going
So they may watch their coffers growing.

Killing and murder and terror are okay,
As long as America does it, anyway.
As long as a few rich men in the U.S.A.
Get richer with every nation they slay.

I fear for the lives of the people abroad
Who must live and die by our mighty rod.
And are never shown a mere acknowledgement
That they, too, are human, and that we should repent
For all the harm we have done to their lives,
All under "spreading democracy's" guise.


You can talk to me 'til you're blue in the face,
But I only see it as a disgrace
To place one life above another
Simply because a different flag above them hovers.

I know that if people could view it this way
And could see the truth, which is hidden from day,
That not one of us would agree
To kill or bomb for hegemony.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Get informed.  Every human life is precious.
Murdering innocents avenges no one.
And it's wrong.  It's pre-meditated evil.

It's being done in our name, so that a few might profit.
Let's stop it.