and that sickly, ugly war raged through the streets, unhinged and unhappy, all too costly and unaware of the damage it deals
it blisters the skin and boils the blood, ripping down foundations, blasting apart buildings, making vehicles cease to exist, filling the air with a foul stench of fear and anger
its reward? only carnage and arrogant blustering, nothing of validity or consequence; nothing positive or loving or logical
only the bellowing roar of endless warring
a hotdog cart burning in the road, and fat, half-dead cow by the river, making horrible noises of pain, as it hopelessly calls out for attention
and to think, how everything could have been peaceful, happy, and quiet
but some will always find it absolutely unacceptable to have anything other than their way
Liberals need to get a grip on the facts Democracy has come right off the tracks Get it through your Progressive head This doesn’t end without bloodshed
The Epstein list, it just doesn’t matter Scandals don’t cause tyrants to scatter The “schism” should cause you no elation But you’re not ready for that conversation
Maybe you’ll get lucky; I don’t know Like the British, saying, “You guys can go” King George set us free just to be nice And we didn’t even have to ask twice
Or how Southern States just up and quit, No need for the Union to do actual shit Confederacy said, “Hey, let’s not fight” “We’re sorry. We want to make it right”
When that guy with the funny mustache Apologized for being grumpy and rash He regretted invading Poland and France, Gave it right back when he had a chance
But good luck with the nonviolent protest If boycotts and letters are your very best You should persuade them any day now Although, in truth, I don’t know how
Those authoritarian fashy-types, Don’t yield power over grumbles or gripes To beat fascism without ending up dead Get over yourself, and embrace bloodshed
There’s a video going around about how right-wing media is successful because they offer people easy answers.
I have no problem with the video or what the people in it are saying. I think they’re correct.
You know what else is an easy answer? The easiest answer of all is the one that we so desperately want and need to hear:
“Peaceful Resistance is the way!”
Peaceful Resistance Is Surrender
It’s easy because it involves very little effort. It’s simple things like boycotting specific companies, calling (corrupt) politicians, attending marches, or organizing a national strike that will be a drop in the profit bucket for oligarchs who already have more money than God.
Peaceful resistance is easy because it requires no changes in our typical, day-to-day thinking of “Be kind.” And the “Be kind” way is how I strive to live, too.
But when someone is literally kidnapping your neighbors and sending innocent people to the most horrible prison on earth (that we know of), is saying, “We need to remain peaceful!” really still the kindest thing to do?
Really?
Does that help any of the families who have had their loved ones abducted? If your friends or family members had been stolen, would you want to hear about more peaceful protests?
Or would you want to see someone gearing up like goddamn Delta Force, armed to the teeth, ready to go get them back at any cost?
Unless you genuinely placed your real-life loved ones into that hypothetical scenario, and then really thought it through, you won’t answer the question honestly.
Change of Venue
But that would require letting go of some of our preconceived notions about how the world works. It would require considering the possibility that perhaps our democracy has already fallen, and now, the only hope is to steal it back and restore it.
But these are not easy answers.
I assert that it is foolish to believe that a regime like the Republican Party is willing to allow us to have free and fair elections in the future.
Seriously?!
Do you really think that the same people who are arresting judges and mayors are somehow above rigging elections?
You think the same sociopaths who laugh about putting innocent people into the worst prison on the planet are simply too democratic to even consider tampering with your right to vote?
You think the psycho who sits in the Oval Office, mocking heroes like Zelenskyy, and chuckling at sick jokes with a tyrant like Nayib Bukele, that turd, is going to respect your voting rights?
The one who repeated the Big Lie, over and over, a la Joseph Goebbels and Adolf Hitler… that one?
The one that incited the January 6th riot, and was refusing to leave the White House. That turd?
It Can’t Happen Here
People will say, “That’s ridiculous! Our democracy cannot fail!”
But consider what was recently said by one of the Yale professors who just permanently left the US because of her fears about the rise of fascism here.
She said (paraphrasing) that:
Everyone is saying, ‘Let’s just step back and take a breath. We have guardrails to protect us against these things.’
But we’re like people on the Titanic, insisting that our ship cannot possibly sink. But there’s no such thing as an unsinkable ship.
What Actually Works
Physical force is not only sometimes necessary, it’s FREQUENTLY necessary.
It’s the whole reason we have an Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, and National Guard, plus a police force, FBI, CIA, DOD, CSS, DHS, SWAT, NSA, and all the other agencies.
If a person is interested in Successful Resistance, they will look over this diagram and decide where they fit into it.
They will save the image, begin studying something that we, everyday civilized civilians normally pay no attention to, the Art of War.
Because the enemy has already captured the capital, and they have no intention of stopping until they have ground you and I into the dirt.
“But It Doesn’t Make Sense!”
You tell yourself, “But this cannot be! They can’t possibly be that cruel, selfish, and willing to cheat!”
And you believe this precisely because you are a decent person.
But you will always be at the mercy of terrible people until you acknowledge the existence of terrible people.
You must do more than simply admit that they exist. You must admit to yourself that they are everywhere, even right here in the good old USA.
You must accept the harsh reality that they are willing to harm, threaten, imprison, and even kill you in order to get what they want.
Know Thy Enemy
And unless you’re willing to take the gloves off and get your hands dirty, unless you’re willing to spill blood in the defense of your family, community, your nation, your freedoms, and common decency, they WILL prevail.
They are already in the big chair in Washington.
You have to change your entire mindset. If you would defeat evil, then you must learn how evil operates.
And not every example of “fight fire with fire” is an oxymoron, nonsense argument.
Physical force is frequently the ONLY THING that will stop a violent person from harming others.
And physical force is sometimes DEADLY.
Again… But Why?!
Why would they do this?
Because they are hateful and greedy.
And THAT, my friend, is the ONLY easy answer that you’ll get about any of this mess.
Making memes has become a real problem for me. If I survive this fascist regime, I will need to seek help.
stiff upper lip, thick-skinned baller, rolling with the punches, and all that other factitious bullshit
the bliss of liar’s cup is but a cup of blissful lies
dreams of copious other things, receding like melting wax, into the past fading away, leaving behind the sweet perfume of burning plastic and ammonia
hairlines
fissures in consciousness, blessings of intermittent sleep
control panel fuses all crisp, and awry of order
all correspondence resides now in dwellings other than original intentions
settle for smaller and smaller portions, pieces
easter egg fractals of memory
“didn’t there used to be something that went right here? didn’t something or someone occupy this space?”
now, quiet dogs bed down in the cold, wet trenches
stale toast and seagull meat empty ammo box for one in the center of the house
unseen earthworms, misunderstood by all the happy eagles and fish
whole continents fall, and yet, not an inch of ground is gained
roll off the edge of the map, and onto the floor, to lie in the dust, with all the broken grease pencils, and first draft plans of attack, torn angrily into ribbons, and bursting into flame
siphon off the last sour dregs of wedding wine
no guest sits at the table to taste it
it is useful now, only as vinegar for cleaning the stains left behind by revelers who dwell in the realm of the living
wines and cakes are wasted on the forgotten dead
celebration farce, ersatz holy words of hollow power
the gut pinches up and knots at the thought of each new sunrise
Most stories don’t have happy endings The brutal truth is that most do not For each hero who makes it home, In unknown ditches, a hundred more rot
For every song about some brave champion, There are endless graves without any bones For there was no body which they could bury Only lost names engraved on stones
We must admit if we’re honest about it, Eventually, Death claims them all Those who we celebrate after a battle And those who on the battlefield fall
Those who seem to be safe back at home Are also short candles in a night so late None escape the long-armed grasp, Of those pitiless stranglers, time and fate
Something in the Air – an album of 10 original songs from Trent Boswell, available on June 8th, 2022 at most major music streaming services like Amazon Music, Spotify, iTunes, etc.
Published Works
The poetry and music of Kevin Trent Boswell
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Magus72 on Patreon – the music, poetry, and madness of Kevin Trent Boswell
I see the blood that spills in the streets Can practically smell the gunpowder air Tasting the ashes, bitter on my tongue I hear the explosions, but I am not there
I cannot claim to fathom their fear Or say that I know the depth of their dread I’ve not had to bear the loss of loved ones Nor have I the need to step over the dead
I live far away from the noise of the horror I close my eyes with no fear of sleeping No aid raid sirens awaken me rudely I read in peace, tea silently steeping
Pictures and articles pour in daily Videos making me a bit more aware I know it’s happening; I know that it’s real But the sadness I feel does not compare
I hear children crying, and nothing stops it I see the confusion and pain in their eyes I smell the smoke and festering wounds But the foulest odor is the stench of lies
A well-heeled madman’s misinformation Distorted guile drips from his tongue Slanderous justifications for the slaughter Of unknown thousands, old and young
But my food is hot; my belly is full I don’t hide underground or need to run There are no tanks parked out on my lawn My hands are empty; they hold no gun
I don’t have a gas mask close at all times My roads are clear, my home is intact The power to stop the storm is not mine It rages on, and the sky is blacked
I cannot order the attack to halt And to send in support is not my decision I don’t determine the fate of anyone else I need not defend my political vision
No sons or daughters go off to fight Because of anything that I say or do But war will not cease of its own accord No moving of money makes it less true
I can say kind things and show my support The only thing worse is not even to care The words I say, meaningless, useless It’s easy for me, for I am not there
If I believed it, I’d say, “Wait. Do nothing; Or else he may set the whole world afire.” I could say I believe to hold back is better But were I to say it, I would be a liar
Powerless, unable to stop a mass murder Intervention may mean the death of us all So, we answer the cry for help by saying, “We pray for you and hope you don’t fall.”
To cover our fears of atomic destruction Supportive words hang on digital display Perhaps if we allow the bully his toy He’ll go no further after getting his way
If only it were true that a taste of victory Made conquerors quit; one land controlled The wanton wishes of children who know Nothing of madmen, bloodthirsty, bold
I cannot assist in their hour of darkness Or insist that others answer the pleading My heart hurts for those brave defenders But my pain is painless; I am not bleeding
I cannot say “Fight,” nor can I say “Wait.” It’s not my problem or burden to bear After all, it’s easy to speak in abstractions It’s easy for me because I am not there