# Shutdown



## Vitaly Ana (Oct 1, 2013)

Political bobble. Heads
of state jabbing
(with egos,
logos,
pathos - red
throws, blue catches.)
White watches;
checks the unbalanced world
 of wolves - fangs sharpened 

by false esteem.


----------



## Alabastrine (Oct 2, 2013)

Bravo! Great description of the mess we are in.


----------



## The Tourist (Oct 2, 2013)

Eh, take your victories where you can get them.  What I want to know is why all my tax money has been wasted on "non-essential personnel." 

There are no real statesmen anymore, I doubt many of them have even read the Constitution or The Federalist Papers.  Yikes, I hear them refer to our country as a "democracy" quite often.  We're a Republic.

(That's a very big deal unless you like the idea of a simple majority standing you in front of a firing squad...)

Most of the present legislation passed in the second half of my life has been fluff or posturing on silly land wars that get young boys killed.  Now that women can fight I shudder to think about our nation's reaction to those coffins coming back from the folly.

I believe that it has gotten so ridiculous that unfunded mandates should be made illegal, and if you pass a law you should also be required to repeal another.  A copy of the Constitution should be stapled to every bill presented to the President.

Either that or put these idiots on minimum wage.  I live in a liberal state, and we just passed the 200,000 mark in concealed carry licenses.  We've lost our faith in the pretenders who run the country.

Today one brain-donor wrote to the local newspaper and stated that all GOP members should be tried for treason.  I responded that Reagan was shut down seven times.  You don't study history, you're doomed...period.


----------



## Vitaly Ana (Oct 2, 2013)

I am with you Tourist...It has gotten ridiculous, no doubt. And yes, it is critical to understand the difference between a Republic and a Democracy. 

I look at our judicial system for example. It is not a reflection of a 'pure majority rules' democracy - one juror can overrule all others so that the minority has a substantial voice. 

A Democracy wants mandates by the majority as an entire body whereby the minority has no voice.
A Republic on the other hand gives a voice to the minority viewpoint. It respects the minority to a larger degree. It takes causality of specific situations into account.

Those wolves in the last line are the idiots (the wolves in sheep's cloth) who don't respect the idea of the republic. Their false sense of self-esteem and ego (their fangs) are what make them more animal than human - less compassionate, more brute.


----------



## Theglasshouse (Oct 2, 2013)

> Political bobble. Heads
> 
> of state jabbing
> with egos,
> ...



Very smart and eloquent. You use so many good adjectives or nouns, that I had to pause and admire the beauty of blue, wolves, egos, and political.


----------



## Blade (Oct 2, 2013)

Great. The last line is particularly effective.




			
				The Tourist said:
			
		

> There are no real statesmen anymore, I doubt many of them have even read the Constitution or The Federalist Papers. Yikes, I hear them refer to our country as a "democracy" quite often. We're a Republic.



I really wonder sometimes if some of these people ever listen to what they are saying or just talk. Knowledge of the constitution seems to have disappeared in several states.


----------



## The Tourist (Oct 2, 2013)

There is also a real part of me that believes some/most of the politicians count on our ignorance to ram through any bill they want, whether it has footing from The Framers or not.

So what if the government shuts down?  Have most people even read the aims of our Republic...

_To secure these rights, the U.S. Constitution creates a government of the people to “establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity.”_

So ask yourself (point by point) if you run the government or if it runs you.

Are you getting Justice, i.e., are your enumerated rights honored.

Are you safe in your community, or does the security dollar go to drones.

Does the army protect you, or is it a truncheon of raw politics.

Does your government provide an environment with your success as a goal.

Are you free, and will your children be, as well.

I only see a shadow of the USA bilking the working for a sop to sway the feeble minded.  If you run for office claiming to be "for the downtrodden," then ergo, you need downtrodden to stay in power.  As long as they are broke and hopeless you get to pretend to be the white knight.  If everyone was successful, free, well armed and raising children with values we wouldn't need this latest batch of clowns.

Oh, but then most of these easy riders would have to work.


----------



## tinacrabapple (Oct 2, 2013)

Don't forget that they also like to sip their tea!  A political statement that expresses a solid condemnation of the dysfunctional American government.


----------



## The Tourist (Oct 2, 2013)

tinacrabapple said:


> Don't forget that they also like to sip their tea!  A political statement that expresses a solid condemnation of the dysfunctional American government.



It's Republic, we're citizens, not subjects of the monarchy.  Everything we do is messy, loud, disorganized and reeking with freedom.

BTW, Harleys don't shake.  They'll very loud and needlessly over-powered.  They shake the ground, and it's an optical illusion.

But where do the oppressed run?  How many peoples of the world drink Coca Cola and wear blue jeans?  If Americans are so abhorrent, violent and poorly governed, then most people should stay in their countries and fight their own wars with their own money.


----------



## tinacrabapple (Oct 2, 2013)

I was making a reference to the Tea Party.  Yeah, were a Republic, you are correct.


----------



## The Tourist (Oct 2, 2013)

Don't misunderstand.  I'm not angry, just proud.

But having said that, my chances at a Rose Garden beer are pretty slim.  LOL.


----------



## ppsage (Oct 2, 2013)

Vitaly Ana said:


> Political bobble. Heads
> ?????
> of state jabbing
> {with egos,
> ...



I have trouble with the skipped line between L1 & L2. Doesn't seen right following the enjambment of bobbing / heads. Kind of the same at the end. Can't really make the last three lines scan syllabically. I might think about a period after unbalanced and put the line skip there and then rearrange the last two lines to match or complement L3-6 which are really nice. Lots of images with very few words. I guess that's why they call it poetry. In appreciation, pp.


----------



## Element Writer (Oct 3, 2013)

The quickest way to drive yourself and everyone around you insane is to discuss politics. Sometimes I do it just because I like to make people mad. It's funny. 

That being said, I'm not a huge fan of poetry either. But I did rather enjoy this poem. A few words expresses the opinions a citizen holds about the government. What's more it seems as if the opinions (perhaps I should say facts...) are shared by others as well. I too am one of those others.


----------



## escorial (Oct 3, 2013)

I enjoyed the structure of the poem...intense subject matter.


----------



## The Tourist (Oct 3, 2013)

escorial said:


> I enjoyed the structure of the poem...intense subject matter.



I agree.  It's hard to write moving poetry without being preachy or maudlin.

Politics are always touchy, you're dealing with people's lives.  Coupled to that, it's hard to watch a country and its people fall apart.

Lord Boyd Orr penned, _"If people have to choose between freedom and sandwiches, they will take sandwiches."_ 

Taken as a whole, our current strident attitude is nothing new.  I shake my head daily seeing that being a lazy victim becomes a virtue.  But amid anger and confusion I find a deep sadness.  I wish someone could combine those two seemingly diverse emotional responses into some poetry.


----------



## Terry D (Oct 3, 2013)

Please get this thread back to a discussion of the poem and away from the discussion of politics.


----------



## Pandora (Oct 3, 2013)

Great poem VA next time I see them all on TV I will picture them as bobbleheads. Got to keep my sense of humor
or I'd be crying. 

edited . .


----------



## Vitaly Ana (Oct 3, 2013)

Most of my poems as you all know are not political but I was feeling quite sad about the state of things, so I had to share. This was not meant to offend, only to express. Take care all and, thank you for your feedback.

V.


----------



## Qetris (Oct 16, 2013)

What I like most about this poem is your line breaks.  Each line stands on its own perfectly, and relates very well to the government's current situation.  The tone is indeed indignant, but I think that gives this poem even more power.  Great job!


----------

