Original title: The United States makes me sick
It's come to that.
It's always made me queasy,
Ever since I stopped being a kid.
When I learned about the atomic bombing of Japan.
Then Vietnam brought it home.
I was writing Romantic poetry
Until the age of 12.
Then my poetic soul
Gently urged me to wake up.
I woke up like Neo in the Matrix
In a bath of amniotic fluid
Covered with suctioning electrodes
Which I pulled off,
Gasping for air
Like a premature newborn
Adult human being.
All romantic notions
Of One Nation Under God,
Hand to the heart,
Swearing allegiance became just swearing.
Something hit the window of my house of mirrors.
I picked up the still-warm
Bird of my youthful soul
And got sick right there,
Sick of my country.
I have nothing to prove.
No loyalty.
My country needs to win me back.
Hand over heart, face mask for protection.
Stop making us sick.
.........................
Why am I feeling particularly nauseous right now?
Maybe it is the destruction of Lahaina, largely due to climate change, and knowing that the United States is the biggest contributor to greenhouse gasses that have been warming the air and sea for decades. Maybe it is that our president says he cares about the climate to the left and then he turns to the right and says, "Don't worry, you can drill in the Arctic." Maybe it is every time I hear about how the economy is doing based on home sales and the consumer index, the Dow Jones average, I am reminded that the United States' military budget is most of 2 trillion $ and yet just one Trident submarine is enough to destroy the planet's biosphere for thousands of years. (I have to stop. I'm feeling queasy. My breakfast is coming up!) Why, I'll bet they have conceived of ten ways to win a nuclear war and that every "winning" scenario includes sacrificing a certain number of us (my guess is in the millions) and a certain number of cities. (You think I'm being cynical? Nope, just realistic.) I'm feeling nauseous but our leaders are really sick! The symptoms of Wetiko are all of the above, agreeing that it's OK if the world burns, as long as they can hold on to power.
(Article changed on Aug 21, 2023 at 12:18 PM EDT)
(Article changed on Aug 21, 2023 at 6:14 PM EDT)
