Courtesy SEIU.org
“Eight hour work day with no cut in pay.”
Then and Now
Back then, robber barons and bankers divided up the spoils,
ran waves of immigrant workers through the wage slave grinder,
getting rich raping forests and extracting dirty coal and oils.
In Europe, the dogs of war were baying loudly,
as the serfs grew tired of groveling to the lords.
They rallied around new ideas, rioting in angry hordes.
Economic booms and busts were common in those days.
Wars were one way to increase production, wealth and loyalty,
and the lords used these ploys to claim converts in many ways.
For it was thought to be glorious to go off to a war.
To come back victorious; a hero rising above the gore.
A way to escape the groveling poor peasant life before.
And so the crash of '29, worldwide, was a harbinger of much more.
A deep depression, deepened and birthed ideologies by the score.
Some sought worker concessions, spreading the wealth around.
Some sought revenge, exacting compensation pound for pound.
With angry voices rising two different paths were wrought.
In the US, concessions were granted to those who sought,
in Germany, old hatreds and fear granted power to a dreadnought.
With an angry claim of superiority of race, loyalty was engendered,
a new order for a new age of the thousand years was rendered.
In the US, government helped the poor gain rights, work and pay.
In Germany, the new regime plundered the old, taking their rights away.
It took a second great war to determine which ideology was just.
Everyone thought that the evil of fascism had been trampled in the dust.
But now, CEOs of corporations, bankers and Wall Street divide the spoils,
and, in spite of great danger to all, increase extraction of coal, gas and oils.
In the Middle East, the dogs of war are baying again loudly,
as religious sects argue over modernization, money and morality.
Old hatreds grow and fester with atrocities unthinkable, expressed boldly.
Fear, once again, grips the West with thoughts of going to war,
with thoughts of hatred growing and of evening the score.
So many working people with concessions now disappearing from the countryside,
with so many looking for scapegoats for why they lost their money and pride.
Two views of the situation have been coming to the fore,
those that want the peoples' concessions returned and more,
and those who want the superior race to rule like before.
There is danger in both of these views, if taken way too far.
Greed creeps in, power begets power, and it all gets blamed on sin.
But we all know what is the right thing to do and won't ever give in,
to that evil anymore; we know the score, we've heard it all before.
Old ideas just won't work anymore… No more… Nevermore.
Copyright 2016 © Ronald W. Hull
11/17/16
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You are so very right, the way you've summed it up, Ron.
Thanks for sharing!
I rarely am able to visit, but how glad I am that I did!
This is a beautifully executed piece. I love how you intertwine the past with the present, and show the folly of both ways, when used in extreme.
May the good Lord grant us wisdom, understanding and discernment long into the future.
Hugs & Happy Thanksgiving!
Rhonda
As Rebecca says, this is thought provoking. I wish life could be like this. I fear the coming 4 years will not be amenable to this view.
Rebecca
A near perfect historical example of Dichotomy.
When will the people in power ever learn that a
True Win Win situation requires a massive degree
of compromise?
More often than not, usually both extremes are Wrong.
Give and take - the middle ground - the average - the median -
these are more conducive to harmony.
Thanx for sharing your wisdom. ✌🏻️🦃✌🏻️
Wisdom in verse.
All gone to rest
Peace now in the West.
Love ya!
Jane
As usual you gave the reader his money's worth in this one. You interspersed history throughout this poem, and did it quite well.
"Old ideas just won't work anymore… No more… Nevermore."
My first Impression was to challenge you on the above quote, for I have old ideas floating around inside me. But I realize that you are correct. Old ideas really have a difficult time working in the new world we keep creating.