I wrote this spoken word piece in 2009 after the Deepwater Horizon incident and in the midst of the recession. I found it in an old notebook this morning as I was going through some boxes in the garage. It seems equally as relevant now as it did then... Back then I was very concerned about environmental issues and politics and activism... unfortunately not much has really changed in the world since then. At least I have been able to take responsibility for myself and my family in an effort to live our life with less negative impact. We are attempting to support and pursue technologies and causes that we believe may help to make the world a more fair and just place for our daughter in the future. Only time will tell. This old notebook is filled with bad poetry of one kind or another. I never ended up doing much with them back then but perhaps some of them can find a home on POB and HIVE! Let me know what you think! Criticism enthusiastically accepted- I was only 20 at the time!
Apathy does not absolve us of our responsibility
to the planet
or for the effects of society upon it
how did it become normality
to forget or ignore
the need to restore
the destruction that has taken place?
to clean up our hazardous waste?
just because its not in your face
or in your personal space
doesn't give us the right to drop the case.
It's a disgrace that our race has become so absorbed in STUFF
that we need to bring up
all our problems
that we have to draw attention cause we forget 'em
its time we stopped them
corporate whores
who make up rules behind closed doors
with the governments whose cause
was to serve the people before
they started sharing their bed
with those who only want to get ahead
regardless of the means
its obscene
the American dream
has become a global nightmare
with the people unaware
that its real
and those who are don't care
as long as they get their share
of the profits
that's why I dropped this
its time for a new office
no fuck that
a whole new system
to make it our mission
to stop ourselves before its too late
because at this rate
it wont be long before our fate
is sealed and the planet becomes our tomb
instead of remaining the womb
that has nurtured our growth
and what we'll regret the most
is that we knew it was happening
and instead of grappling
with the issues
and searching for solutions
we let the politicians waste resources on the big guns
sold out to corporations
and we let them spend our tax funds
on the military
on high tech weaponry
so we engaged in endless wars
to open new doors
for uneven trade
so that more profit could be made
and to control more resource
ready to be consumed for the next course
by the media coddled work force
then wasted as trash
or burned to extract from the ash
the cash that could be made from the charred remains.
Meanwhile people starved all across the world
and in the oceans there swirled
more trash and plastic than algae
and at the same time we got busy chopping down trees
and eliminating species
took months to clean up catastrophes
like the Exxon Valdez
and the travesty that was BP's
destruction of the gulf.
Who are we kidding?
the gulf is probably dead,
first of a new series of lifeless zones
soon nothing but the corpses and bones
of former sea life will be found
dead and drowned
in that sea of oil and contaminants and dispersants
soon to affect inhabitants of shores around that infected sea
but shit man what about the gulf stream?
It's only gonna take it back to the shores of the Queen
home of BP and parliamentary democracy,
a transatlantic tragedy
and while they fought over who got the bill and the blame
cleanup took days and days until the insane
idea to burn it off occurred,
but still no one stirred nor cared
that's just going from water to air
out of sight out of mind
so that anger subsides
with the help of the media
who immediately reduced
the amount of news produced
as proof that the spoof solution
concluded the situation
and eluded all out disaster
these guys are masters of spin
and at the whim of the government that's in
use it to manipulate public opinion
convincing you its all okay
to shepherd you back to your routine days
EAT
SLEEP
WORK
SPEND SPEND SPEND
These are the ways they keep us enslaved
content and ignorant,
drunk and belligerent,
intelligent and arrogant,
high and stupefied
or rich and mollified
or else you have some position in this stagnating system
reaping benefits and perpetuating an elite
who skim off the top
and then some from the sides too
causing the economy to enter depression
oh sorry... it was only a recession
and at the first mention of dropping stocks
we open the locks
and print infinite bucks to bail out
the ones who are without doubt the root cause of our awful state
rampant speculation shaking economies and nations.
Its time to make some changes
create a greener world to which we can relate
and embrace one that can regenerate itself
without our help
its health should be equal to limitless wealth
in our eyes
we just need to open our minds and realize
its time to mobilize
before our future dies
'Cause there's still time to end the lies
to turn things around and to rise
from this depressing state of affairs
to hand a new world to our heirs
but we have to wake up
we have to change the corrupt
and selfish mentality
that condones such brutality
so don't get sucked in
don't believe the "normality"
you perceive as reality
fed to you by the tv screen
the propaganda machine
and open your eyes to the truth
we're crashing and there is proof
no matter where you turn-
how little money you earn,
how much carbon we burn,
how much it costs just to learn,
the sickness and starvation inherent in most nations,
rules and regulations preventing innovation in progressive invention
but that's the intention!
never forget this
we are not gonna fix it
until we get off of this sinking ship
fuck capitalism
fuck democracy
that's just despotism and aristocracy
we've been divided,
and conquered...
I say no longer
there are better ways
leading to better days
local communities
with global opportunities
thanks to unlimited connection with others around the world
so that all can be heard
value creation no longer fettered by location
market makers no longer the sole movers and shakers
dissent no longer resented or silenced
one collective planet
one collective voice
we just have to make the choice.
