Saving Bubbles
Part of a series of poetry and image combinations inspired by the murals of Salina, KS
Gross wealth disparity, Massive power inequality, Growing, Spreading like a cancer throughout, In rural to urban spaces, Reflected in young to old faces, As the American dream fades out. Unfair and imbalanced is... Our access to resources, Our access to opportunities, Our quality of life, The stories we read, The messages we hear, and The truths we're told. A social cancer spread by...
The 1 and 0.1 percenters, The wealthy elite, Their Media Mutts and Friends, Worshipping their gods of pleasure, privilege, and… Capitalism, American exceptionalism, oligarchy, and… Individualism - Dionysus, Freedman, and Rand. Drunk on power, on money, on their own… Self-worth, Metastasizing misinformation, lies, and... Myths - School choice, clean natural gas, and… Homo economicus, As they sacrifice our children’s dreams… On the alter of the free market. Not so much free, Not so much fair, Mostly benefiting those who... Can pay to play, Who trade our collective hopes for... Personal power, money, and... More. Always more. More cars, more contracts, more... Celebrity, More privilege, more separation, more... Disparity, More say... Over our collective day-to-day.
All while our children's dreams, Their hopes, Float away in fragile bubbles, Their thin films desiccating as the... Billionaires suck, the Musks, Bezoses, and Murdochs of the world suck,... the moisture from the air, From the airwaves, Until... Pop! So what's the answer to this... Social cancer? How do we save... Our children's' bubbles from the.. Desiccation of inequity and... Wealth disparity? No caped crusader, or masked avenger, Will swoop in to save the day. Nor will billionaire philanthropists, Be the hero of this story. We will save ourselves, if we manage to, Collectively, Through community and civic engagement. By protecting the free press, public education, and... Democracy. By connecting government... To those it represents. By talking to one another and listening. By seeing each other as human. And doing all of this, Will require a little help from... The behavioral sciences.