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The content presented here is for informational or educational purposes only. These are just the authors' personal opinions and knowledge.
Names, places, characters, events, and incidents are based on the authors' lives and experiences and may be changed to protect personal information. Any resemblances to actual persons (living or dead), organizations, companies, events, or locales are entirely coincidental.
Note: While authors are asked to place warnings on their stories for some moderated content, everyone has different thresholds, and it is your responsibility as a reader to avoid stories or stop reading if something bothers you. 

Lyrical Laments - 12. Chapter 12 Hashtag

It's impossible to ignore the world around me. Some days, I wish I could....

Hashtag

 

What is happening?

To a world unrecognizable

To people ordinary

To ideals murky

To compassion scarce

#Should we be scared?

 

What about the lessons

of the past?

Have we forgotten

our mistakes?

The battles bravely fought?

#Don’t ask, don’t tell

 

Aren’t we better than this?

Do morals no longer matter?

Are ethics relegated

to a bygone era

For the sake of a privileged few?

#Do unto others

 

What is to come for us all?

As lines are drawn

And lies masquerade as truth

In both the spoken and written word

And the perpetrators carry no shame

#I miss the days of Walter Cronkite

 

Who will emerge victorious?

Do the dinosaurs feel their mortality?

Seeing their iron grip threatened

Challenged by a new force

While they roam hallowed halls

#Me too

 

Where is our compassion

as human rights move backward?

Why are we on the wrong edge of reason?

Turning a blind eye to cruelty?

To injustice?

#What about the children?

 

What will result

from this shift to open callousness?

Have decency and truth become casualties

in the war for power?

History tells us, societies do fall

#Justice for all

 

Do we bury our heads?

Wait and see?

Have faith that good will triumph?

Weariness invades my soul

Yet I must rally for my grandchildren

#Never give up

 

Throughout time

Heroes have risen

And voices have rung out

Sending the rats scurrying

Back into the darkness

#We can do it again

 

#Time’s up

#No more lies

#All people matter

#We are not stupid

#Accountable

 

 

*

Thanks for reading. We live in frightening times... what worries me most is that it's becoming the norm.
Copyright © 2017 Headstall; All Rights Reserved.
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The content presented here is for informational or educational purposes only. These are just the authors' personal opinions and knowledge.
Names, places, characters, events, and incidents are based on the authors' lives and experiences and may be changed to protect personal information. Any resemblances to actual persons (living or dead), organizations, companies, events, or locales are entirely coincidental.
Note: While authors are asked to place warnings on their stories for some moderated content, everyone has different thresholds, and it is your responsibility as a reader to avoid stories or stop reading if something bothers you. 

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  • Site Administrator

I think you summarized current events perfectly.  :hug: :kiss: 

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Apparently, we’re destined to continue to make the mistakes of the past....sad, but very poignant. Thank you!

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1 minute ago, mfa607 said:

Apparently, we’re destined to continue to make the mistakes of the past....sad, but very poignant. Thank you!

It appears so, and that makes me sad for the future. I don't understand why tyrants are allowed to exist. :hug: Thanks for commenting, mfa... cheers... Gary....

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What Valkyrie said, 😊

I especially love “do unto others”. (I think I stubbornly reject hashtags, lol)

The golden rule is my personal mantra.

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46 minutes ago, FanLit said:

What Valkyrie said, 😊

I especially love “do unto others”. (I think I stubbornly reject hashtags, lol)

The golden rule is my personal mantra.

Mine too... and I've never used a hashtag in my life, until now. :)  I remember when lying was unacceptable... now it's commonplace. That is shocking to this old guy. Thanks you for reading and commenting, my friend... cheers... Gary....

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What else can I write but Truth?! I love this,  Only this early Tuesday morning I responded to a post on Facebook, and wrote'' what happened with the American innocent till proven guilty?''  Nowadays it is guilty till proven innocent. Women have found a powerful tool with the Me Too movement. My heart goes out to the men that are accused of doing something terrible and after the men are acquitted, their reputation and credibility remain tainted, their lives and careers destroyed, not only theirs but also of their families. Gary, I am sorry that I got carried away, I love your # 12 Hashtag. 

Edited by Job
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8 hours ago, Job said:

What else can I write but Truth?! I love this,  Only this early Tuesday morning I responded to a post on Facebook, and wrote'' what happened with the American innocent till proven guilty?''  Nowadays it is guilty till proven innocent. Women have found a powerful tool with the Me Too movement. My heart goes out to the men that are accused of doing something terrible and after the men are acquitted, their reputation and credibility remain tainted, their lives and careers destroyed, not only theirs but also of their families. Gary, I am sorry that I got carried away, I love your # 12 Hashtag. 

No need to apologize, Job. Poetry is meant to stir emotions and examine feelings, and hopefully make readers think. Most issues are multi-faceted... and I mourn the values... like truth, that no longer have the power they did. Thanks, buddy... and cheers... Gary....

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This is a clear trumpet call for change to the way things are. I signed up to campaign for the challenger to one of intolerance’s enablers in my district. You’re right. And we need to take away the roots that make political callousness possible. Thank you. 

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1 hour ago, Parker Owens said:

This is a clear trumpet call for change to the way things are. I signed up to campaign for the challenger to one of intolerance’s enablers in my district. You’re right. And we need to take away the roots that make political callousness possible. Thank you. 

That's great to hear, Parker. We all must do what we can to make the world a just and better place. I heard a report today that sickened me... regarding same sex couples and their rights... I won't go into details, to avoid politics, but it is more of the same for those who brazenly attack us. It spurs me to continue to support organizations who are on the front lines around the world. I would like to say I feel sorry for the small people who feel the need to target those who don't resemble them, but I can't. My charity of spirit does not include those pathetic haters. :hug: 

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Just as a warning, I don't do any sort of social media beyond reviewing stories.  I don't own a cell phone.  Some ten years or so back I signed up to Facebook to play a farming game my sisters were doing, but tired of that, then did a D&D type one for a time.  I did have a few friends who were on and I saw some of their news...but became immune to their babble.  I haven't been on that site for more than three years, and don't miss it.  The only positive thing I found from there was making contact with my older half-brother I only met once as a teenager.  Nice guy, but we'll never meet since he lives in Texas and I don't drive.  Our dad disowned us both, me for being gay and him for an argument they had when he was in his early twenties over tires.  WTF moment, eh?

So, no hashtags for me, and I steer my political course on moderation.  Sense can be had from both sides of the political aisle, but not from the lunatic fringes at both ends.  The Senate circus going on now only points up the ridiculous lengths  politicians will go to in order to gain favor and power--screw Truth, Justice and the American Way.  Wasn't that Wonder Woman's creed...the ultimate champion for Women and Sanity and Truth.

Truth is dead along with Justice, even on our campuses where discussion is banned if you aren't crying for the blood of men, conservatives, capitalists, free-thinkers of any stripe or cause.  What makes me the most ashamed is that the ultra Liberals' insanity draws fire to all legitimate causes such as Gay Rights or Free Speech.  Those who say anything remotely reasonable against these people are labelled racists at best and hate mongers when the fringe says it's okay to scream and rant at people not only in public places, but at their homes.  

I refuse to ally my gay self with any party that advocates tactics of hate and intolerance, Right or Left.  If only some other reasonable people would stand up for themselves against the Fringe--I can't be the only gay guy out there..... 

Edited by ColumbusGuy
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5 minutes ago, ColumbusGuy said:

Just as a warning, I don't do any sort of social media beyond reviewing stories.  I don't own a cell phone.  Some ten years or so back I signed up to Facebook to play a farming game my sisters were doing, but tired of that, then did a D&D type one for a time.  I did have a few friends who were on and I saw some of their news...but became immune to their babble.  I haven't been on that site for more than three years, and don't miss it.  The only positive thing I found from there was making contact with my older half-brother I only met once as a teenager.  Nice guy, but we'll never meet since he lives in Texas and I don't drive.  Our dad disowned us both, me for being gay and him for an argument they had when he was in his early twenties over tires.  WTF moment, eh?

So, no hashtags for me, and I steer my political course on moderation.  Sense can be had from both sides of the political aisle, but not from the lunatic fringes at both ends.  The Senate circus going on now only points up the ridiculous lengths  politicians will go to in order to gain favor and power--screw Truth, Justice and the American Way.  Wasn't that Wonder Woman's creed...the ultimate champion for Women and Sanity and Truth.

Truth is dead along with Justice, even on our campuses where discussion is banned if you aren't crying for the blood of men, conservatives, capitalists, free-thinkers of any stripe or cause.  What makes me the most ashamed is that the ultra Liberals' insanity draws fire to all legitimate causes such as Gay Rights or Free Speech.  Those who say anything remotely reasonable against these people are labelled racists at best and hate mongers when the fringe says it's okay to scream and rant at people not only in public places, but at their homes.  

I refuse to ally my gay self with any party that advocates tactics of hate and intolerance, Right or Left.  If only some other reasonable people would stand up for themselves against the Fringe--I can't be the only gay guy out there..... 

No... you're obviously not the only one... :)  Maybe... just maybe... the frustration people are feeling will result in a change to political systems.  I respect all rights, unless they inflict harm on others. I just want common decency to prevail... when did that become too much to ask for??  Certainly, no victim of assault should be mocked for coming forward. Believe them... don't believe them... but for God's sake... don't mock them. SAD  Love ya, buddy... G-man. xoxoxo

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I share the fear with you. I too feel the whole situation today is fueled by self centered greed.  I do have to say Wow! The poem is both powerful and uniquely written.

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6 hours ago, raven1 said:

I share the fear with you. I too feel the whole situation today is fueled by self centered greed.  I do have to say Wow! The poem is both powerful and uniquely written.

Thanks, Terry. I don't have high hopes for the world, but I do cling to faith in the human spirit. :hug: 

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