An Ode to Anarchy

The causes of the powerful elite

Need not be the focus of the masses

Their cries for blood and retribution

Growing ever more bombastic

While good folk of modest means

Seek naught but peace and joy

Our rulers, in the folly of hubris

Bid us do their work, to pillage and destroy

They deem themselves fit to lead

But only from a distance

The lives of us and those abroad

Worth no more than a pittance

'Hark!' they cry 'No need to fear,

do let us entertain'

With smart bombs and piercing ammo

They do eagerly kill and maim.

'Do not you understand?' they bellow

'Our security is at stake!

He may do this, he could do that,

Such havoc he might make!'

Belligerence and intimidation

Are cloaked in terms that obfuscate

Preemption, disarmament, and liberation

Should pacify those who would advocate

A different way, one that acknowledges

The evil that we face

Without sacrificing helpless non-combatants

To Mars, a god so vile and base

That his visage should not be sought

Except in direst need

Namely when we must defend ourselves

From a threat that is imminent indeed.

The just of this world do not provoke,

Do not badger, scheme, or meddle,

They lead their lives in meek repose

And thus do lead by example.

They do not delude themselves or others

With talk of destiny and greatness

But rather inspire their friends and kin

With their generosity and kindness.

Their causes are immediate and tangible '

Companions, family, and homestead,

They see no need to sacrifice themselves or others

For abstract notions held high by men who are led

Not by the virtues of duty, honor, and valor

That they in public do keenly embrace

But by the base forces of greed and power

Forces so great that they erase

From their effete and sunken consciences any remnant

Of compunction, guilt, or shame.

Worse yet is that time

When these asses in lions' skins

Believe The Great Lie that they so proudly bray

And so cloak themselves in the garment of self-righteousness.

They make themselves adept

At calling upon others to do their bidding,

Yet when it is their turn to serve

They snort, 'Who are you kidding?

You've got to understand ' I'm too important to die,

Someone's got to direct the hostilities,

Someone needs to stay behind and tend

And besides, I've got other priorities.

Your needs and wants, on the other hand,

Are none of my concern,

Yours is but to do and die

And it's a lesson I'm sure you'll learn

Don't you know? You're in service to Leviathan,

The great and mighty State,

The engine of progress, freedom, and benevolence,

We're the ones who will decide your fate!'

No thank you, 'dear' Uncle Sam '

No kin of mine you are

But rather the bastard child

Of the evils known as Welfare and War.

You've caused much grief in your time

And are intent on more of the same

All too willing to brand as 'anti-American'

Those who will not play your perilous game.

Well, brand me as a traitor then,

I care not what you do!

You have no business telling me or others

What is right, and just, and true.

I need not bow, as you command,

To the god called Democracy,

To those with eyes to see

It's just another form of tyranny.

Yes, I say, tyranny '

Executed by both sword and pen

Through the ballot box, and the bully pulpit

Enslaving, not freeing, many millions of men.

Leave me be! I wish that I might

Be allowed to live in solitude and peace,

Permitted to keep that which I earn

And not, instead, fill the maw of the beast

Which grows ever larger, and sees us only as

Slaves, there to humor and obey,

To toil in its overwhelming shadow

By darkest night and bleakest day.

To pay homage to its presence

And pay tribute to those it holds dear

While those held in far lower regard

Pay a price every bit as great, year after year.

Leave us be! We cast aside your shackles

Your priests and sacred rites are to us of little worth

Instead we look forward to the time

When anarchy shall reign upon the earth,

Anarchy, I say ' not the presence of disorder

But self-rule, and respect for others' rights,

We, the faithful few, shall pursue that noble goal

It is firmly in our sights.