Imposing Democracy

When you have to

Terrify your own

People into giving

Their freedoms away,

We say it’s

Guaranteeing security.

When you invade

Another country

To steal their wealth

And establish your own regime,

We call it

Setting people free.

When you bomb

A tiny village

While all its people

Are fast asleep,

That is known as

Collateral damage.

And when you rob

From the poor

To subsidize

Your rich friends’ wallets,

Well, I’d say that’s graft,

But maybe you’d call it

Paying homage.

When there are

Police at every corner

No, that’s not repression,

It’s maintaining order.

When all the news

Tells you to follow

The government line,

They say that freedom

Of the press is doing

Just fine.

When you’re not

Capable of an

Independent thought,

Then you’ve received

A good education.

And when your health

Care runs out,

That’s just the benefits

Of privatization.

When we hide our

Sweat shops in China

We say that slavery

Is abolished.

And when your vote

Isn’t even being counted,

There are people who

Would call that

Universal suffrage

When a baby is shot

By a stray bullet

Maybe it’s officially

An accident,

But just try telling that

To the mother

And when the ice caps are melted

And the air is polluted,

No, that has not a thing

To do with your profits.

When you say

We’re at war,

I ask you

When haven’t we been?

That’s their version

Of peace without end.

Why is it that

The rules suddenly change

When you’re on

The wrong side

Of a color?

And while you’re at it,

Can you explain to me

How life in prison

Without a trial

Could ever be

“For their own protection?”

And when you get to choose,

Who has the right to live,

Is that what is meant by

“Having God on your side?”

When judges are allowed

To hand out the jobs

Is that thanks to having

Free and open elections?

I don’t know

What you think

About all this going on,

But if that’s democracy

Then something is

Very, very wrong.