DO 'DIS: Some thoughts culpability and moral responsibility Sing a kaddish fer all tortured Palestinians & waltz slowly fer each slaughtered Kosovo Write a poem fer the starving Tutsis then chant "Hail Mary" fer each democracy overthrown Do 'dis azz ah celebration ah absurdity azz ah ritual to our apathy azz ah vision ah how bestial we can seem & if you have the strength, azz ah testament ah what should never ever be allowed ta be. * * * As the fog of history lifts & I think of all who've come before this inquiry surfaces: "Why did you allow those nightmares to be?" "Why did you permit the rise of dictators & mutations of humanity?" Such questions become easy with the buffer of history, yet at times I wonder whether others will look at me & whisper "Why did you allow the villains of your day to prosper? Why didn't you help more people in need?" Am I not every bit as guilty as all placing comfort over conscience or rationalizing injustice azz inevitability? * * * Sam: This poem sucks! Tim: Would you rather turn on the Disney channel? Sam: (not really listening) Huh? Oh yeah, whad'ever . . . (closing his eyes and humming a popular hit tune) Ted: When faced with pain, most people want to ignore it. However, pain is actually our best teacher. It shows we need to learn. ================================================================================= from _AmeriSong: Poetry, Art, & Dialogs about Amerika_ by T Newfields SUMMARY: A multi-layered pastiche about collective guilt and ethical imperatives. KEYWORDS: moral imperatives, ethical responsibilities, political poetry, literary guilt Author: T Newfields [Nitta Hirou / Huáng Yuèwǔ] (b. 1955) Begun: 1999 in Táoyuán, Táiwān / Finished: 2015 in Tokyo, Japan Creative Commons License: Attribution. {{CC-BY-4.0}} Granted < LAST http://www.tnewfields.info/AmeriSong/johnny.htm TOC http://www.tnewfields.info/AmeriSong/index.html NEXT > http://www.tnewfields.info/AmeriSong/red.htm TRANSLATIONS DEUTSCH: http://www.tnewfields.info/de/tun.htm ESPAÑOL: http://www.tnewfields.info/es/esto.htm FRANÇAIS: http://www.tnewfields.info/fr/faites.htm NIHONGO: http://www.tnewfields.info/jp/kyouhansha.htm