Alone
it is embarrassing to me
to be a citizen of this country,
or any country, where
acts of prejudice and
racial hatred are still committed
on a regular basis...
where people can run for office,
and win, backed by the dollars
of prejudice....
where minorities, children,
and women are treated
with disrespect....
where the elite 10% are filthy rich,
and are not taxed! ...
while many of us go without food,
housing, or medical care...
where our children are shipped
off to fight money wars,
or left to die in our prisons....
where crooked businessmen
are more respected than teachers,
nurses, farmers, and carpenters....
where the morality of those
that lead is the pursuit of the dollar,
and freedom is an illusion....
where human dignity has been traded
and sold on the slave blocks of capitalism....
am i alone?
poem by Eric Cockrell
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Related quotes
Call to Arms!
teachers, unite
farmers, unite
carpenters, unite
factory workers, unite
small businessmen, unite
women, unite
families, unite
small towns, unite
neighbors, unite
taxed without representation!
our livelihoods sold, no compensation!
our dignity taken by undignified men!
our freedoms bartered for barrels of oil!
lied to, trodden on, used up!
we're not gonna take it anymore!
it's time for change!
poem by Eric Cockrell
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Common Sense (Truth)
wars are started by men
with agendas... usually profit,
or religious reasons, or both.
the men that start these wars
seldom fight these wars...
they manipulate the masses to
do their dirty work...
these are the elite people that
control our world. their weapons
for control include:
1. poverty
2. ignorance
3. prejudice
4. religion.
if you keep the people struggling
for food and shelter, they wont have
time to stand against you.
if you keep the people ignorant, they
will blindly follow without questioning.
if you divide the people by prejudice,
they will not unite to overthrow.
if you convince them that theirs is
the only true religion, and that God
is on their side, they will commit
unspeakable acts.
the time of wars is over... there can be
no future if we continue.
we must quit chasing riches, and find a
more equitable way to share what we have.
we must be responsible for each other...
we must lay down religious pretensions,
fears, and pride, and become the spiritual
people we are called to be.
we must be human!
poem by Eric Cockrell
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To The American People
common sense solutions:
tax the wealthy.
tax corporations and financial institutions.
put a tariff on imports.
go back to building things here.
get behind the American farmers.
grow as much of your own food as you can.
raise the minimum wage.
change from oil addiction to alternative fuels.
stop the damn wars.
feed every child!
give every child equal education opportunities.
stop prescribing narcotic pills like m & m's.
take money out of the courtrooms.
let anyone live here that works and contributes.
teach your children respect.
teach them to read.
teach them to work.
make health insurance a part of your taxes,
on a percentage basis where it's fair to all.
give everyone equal health care.
take care of the aged and the disabled.
but people that can work need to work!
fight for the environment for our children's sakes.
quit fighting over religion, politics, and sexual orientation.
restore human dignity by equal rights, equal justice.
stop judging, and start affirming.
pay politicians minimum wage!
clean up the street gangs and the prisons...
put prisoners to work, and educate them!
stop building bombs and armies,
and rebuild this country...
the roads, the cities, the factories...
put people back to work!
stop spraying crops with harmful chemicals
and feeding animals antibiotics
that are dangerous...
and pay teachers like they have the most
impotant job in the world...
they do!
teaching your children!
poem by Eric Cockrell
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Dare We Speak Of Freedom?
dare we speak of freedom
when children are starving?
when families are lost without homes?
when speaking the truth has become a crime?
when we bomb women and children
in the name of oil?
when the jobless roam long forgotten lines?
when religions persecute each other?
when prejudice is so deep we dont even see it?
when poverty's children have no means of escape?
when the prison business thrives?
and justice for profit be the way?
when medical care is a privilege for the few?
when everything we do, and everything we say,
is being watched?
when hatred beats the drum, and rattles the swords?
dare we speak of freedom?
poem by Eric Cockrell
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The New American Way # 2
in the long run
we're gonna end up
spending between 3.2
and 4 trillion dollars
in our wars in Iraq,
Afghanistan, and Pakistan.
not to mention the 100 million
a day we were spending in Libya.
the elite ghouls of the War machine
pad their pockets ... while our soldiers
fight and die.
we've maxed out the debt ceiling,
they're gonna cut social security,
medicare, and other programs
for the poor, the sick, and the
elderly.
we have children going hungry,
families homeless no way
to get medical care.
no jobs schools laying off
teachers.
we're out of time!
we have to take back the reins
from the elite now...
or we become their garbage...
no more wars!
poem by Eric Cockrell
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Pillars of Truth
walking across the semi-frozen grass with my old dog....
listening to the crunch, the sound of morning birds singing...
watching the sun come up over the horizon, and thinking.
Carlin, like so many others, was right! we are owned.
this quit being a democracy a long time ago.
the rich, the elite, the corporate gods, call all the shots.
they buy both the laws and the lawmakers. they pick the
president...
they use wars, mis-information and fears, to manipulate
the common people. they whip us into patriotic fevers, and
lead us like sheep to the slaughter.
they tie the economy to these wars, and keep us down.
driven by the greed of the oil barons, they use poverty and
ignorance as a whip.
they use racial prejudice to divide us... they fan this prejudice...
they also use religion... encouraging people to believe that everyone
whose beliefs' are different are dangerous.
poem by Eric Cockrell
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The Next Step
will my next step
help feed the hungry?
heal the sick?
give solace to the lonely?
find housing for the homeless?
help save the rain forests?
help save mountains and rivers
for my children's children?
stop the killing of whales?
the killing of women and children?
help eradicate prejudice?
stand for freedom and dignity?
bring hope to the hopeless?
well... will it?
poem by Eric Cockrell
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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How Do We Deal With Prejudice?
even those of us who've worked very hard
at not being prejudiced, have some type of
prejudice remaining. for example:
it could be prejudice by color, over religion,
over political views, concerning sexual orient-
ation.... prejudice against those who have money,
or those who dont! ...etc.
all prejudice is wrong by nature, most of it grounded
in the 'self'... in our own irrational fears, and our
stubborn streak of ignorance....
it's always taught, but doesnt have to be allowed!
it ofen hides under the banner of morality, or the
flags of patriotism...
we battle prejudice by being open minded, being
willing to listen, and learning to see ourselves
in other people...
if we say we have no prejudices, we have lost,
and prejudice has us bound.
if we admit our prejudices, name them, look at
them with naked eyes and resolve, then we're making
headway....
prejudice in the end is humanity failing to be human!
being human is a 24 hour a day,7 days a week job!
poem by Eric Cockrell
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Worthless
i have never believed
that there was any such thing
as a worthless human being...
yet you keep standing
on the platform
that it's better
to take from the
poor, the sick, the elderly,
the minorities...
to cut social security,
medicare, and
educational benefits
from our children...
in order to protect
the elite, the filthy rich
from being taxed at all...
and you call this fairness...
democracy in action!
your blatent unfeeling arrogance
is making me question
my beliefs!
poem by Eric Cockrell
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Country Gentleman
Country gentleman walked a crooked mile,
Got our money in his pocket.
Did it all with a very handsome smile.
Now, he's livin' it up in a great big office.
He ain't a-gonna help no poor man.
He ain't a-goona help no poor man.
He ain't a-gonna help no poor man.
He's just gonna help his rich friends.
He ain't a-gonna help no women.
He ain't a-gonna help no children.
He's just gonna help his rich friends.
Country gentleman, we see him on T.V.,
Glad handin' folks and chattin' to the nation.
We never knew what really to believe.
Just word upon slogan with emotional connection.
Chorus:
He ain't a-gonna help no poor man.
He ain't a-gonna help no children.
He ain't a-gonna help no women.
He's just gonna help his rich friends.
And in the papers all we'd ever read is
So and so big-shot signed his resignation.
Now, country gentleman he wants us to believe
That he's kind and honest with the best intentions.
Chorus
Country gentleman, now there's a bird that flew
High above his nation, prayed on its weakness.
Picked our bones and threw it in his stew.
Thank God he went back to California.
Chorus
song performed by by John Mellencamp
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Pepper Spray
would you pepper spray your children?
you've fouled the air they will breathe
for the rest of their lives.....
you've fouled their drinking water,
or sold away the rights.
you've cut down their forests,
driven their animal friends to extinction....
carbon, smoke filled, oil spilled,
coal dust, radiation leaked.....
you've taken away their chances for education....
taken back the aid... left them on the streets,
or worse, sent them off to fight your greed wars...
let them get strung out on dope,
sent them to prison... let them fall
between the cracks....
you taught them your morality....
but your actions have taught them hatred,
fear, prejudice, take what you can get....
you've piled up debt that you're leaving for them....
you sold their chances for employment....
you've fed them lies until...
their eyes open, they just say no,
they've had enough.....
sitting quietly in a firm and well thought
act of protest.... you pepper spray them!
why did you have children to start with?
poem by Eric Cockrell
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Capitalism Battles Freedom
when capitalism battles freedom,
you get what we've become...
profit begats slavery,
the many become enslaved.
founded on freedom?
we took this land from
the Native Americans,
took their way of life,
their rights, their dreams...
in the name of God?
of progress?
we brought over the slaves
from the African shores...
to work, to use, to abuse...
we took their lives, their way of life,
their hopes and dreams...
in the name of free enterprise?
of profit?
we treated our women like possessions,
second class citizens at best.
they were expected to be silent,
to obey, to bear our children,
to cook and wash...
they had to fight for years
to get the right to vote...
even longer for equal wages...
in the name of righteous judgement?
of divine directive?
and now, we the poor,
of all colors and creeds,
are corporate owned.
held under the thumb
of the elite, put down
and trampled on...
our way of life taken,
our hopes for the future dashed...
faceless numbers that stink of poverty!
in the name of wealth and power?
in the name of apathetic profit?
profit at all costs!
capitalism... or something else,
fair, equal, with hope and chance
and dreams...
the way of freedom,
when dignity overcomes profit!
when the human being is worth more
than the dollar and the deal!
poem by Eric Cockrell
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Believe
When i hear 'believe ' It makes me laugh, jump and smile because it is a fallacy designed to put us into perpetual darkness, drag us into the mud like a paper - tiger; a paper - tiger that cannot fight back and look at the oppressors eyeball to eyeball and tell them they are telling lies We are not fools born by fools in our country ' Believe ' is an understatement we watched and never saw ' Believe ' never manifested in any form or shape It is a slip of the tongue to say ' believe ' because it never was We watched and watched in vain counting the brick walls, looking at the ceiling in heaven's place We are traumatized by vain promises from our leaders, often My country - men are hungry The women are suffering and complaining The children are crying and despondent The children yet unborn hold tight unto the womb of their mothers for fear of untold hardship bedeviling our country Only to ' believe ' will never put food on the table Only to ' believe ' will never pay the children's school fees Only to ' believe ' will never make mothers deliver safely without money Only to ' believe ' will not make you have hope where there is none and prevent things from getting from bad to worse To ' believe ' is meant to deceive the masses of our people when the leaders are carting away billions of dollars of our common wealth on a daily basis and we can do nothing The Nigerian system, in essence, is run by charlatans in government for self and a microscopic few Democracy in Nigeria today is the government of the rich, by the rich and for the rich alone Although this is anti - people, regrettable we believe in this philosophy To ' believe ' therefore, is to fantasies in order to perpetually enslave the people Therefore believe with circumspection
poem by Olayemi Ayo
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Homeless who writes on a ballot!
Homelessness describes the condition of people without a regular dwelling. People who are homeless are unable or unwilling to acquire and maintain regular, safe, and adequate housing, or lack 'fixed, regular, and adequate night-time residence.'The legal definition of 'homeless' varies from country to country, or among different entities or institutions in the same country or region.
The term homeless may also include people whose primary night-time residence is in a homeless shelter, a warming center, a domestic violence shelter or other ad hoc housing situation. Government homeless enumeration studies also include persons who sleep in a public or private place not designed for use as a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings.
If the Citizen are good
Then why should a Police Department?
If the Citizen are good
And a Homeless becomes the President
Then why do they bother for another Election?
*'A Moral collapse, culture of greed and selfish indifference is to blame for the recent riots.'
-British Prime Minister Mr.David Cameron
poem by Nimal Dunuhinga
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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The Great Sin Of Prejudice Against Color
Children,
who made your skin white?
Was it not God?
Who made mine black?
Was it not the same God?
Am I to blame, therefore,
because my skin is black?
Does it not cast a reproach
on our Maker
to despise a part of His children,
because He has been pleased
to give them a black skin?
Indeed, children, it does;
and your teachers ought to tell you so,
and root up, if possible,
the great sin of prejudice
against color from your minds.
While Sabbath School Teachers
know of this great sin,
and not only do not teach
their pupils that it is a sin,
but too often indulge in it themselves,
can they expect God
to bless them or the children?
Does not God love colored children
as well as white children?
And did not the same Savior
die to save the one as well as the other?
If so,
white children must know
that if they go to Heaven,
they must go there
without their prejudice against color,
for in Heaven
black and white
are one in the love of Jesus.
Now children,
remember what Sojourner Truth has told you,
and thus get rid of your prejudice,
and learn to love colored children
that you may be
all the children of your Father
who is in Heaven.
poem by Sojourner Truth
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My Dead Fathers Dignity
Grandparents met in Japan after the war
A secretary and a soldier
A wounded soldier
My other grandparents were from Iowa
Raised on farms
Dad was a soldier and went to Nam
He was wounded and received a purple heart
Mom was in nursing school
They met at the University of Minnesota
Dad used the GI bill
I have an older brother and sister
Mom died in a car accident when I was 17
Dad died of cancer in 2009
He was 60 years old
They dropped his health insurance
They foreclosed his house
He was wounded for his country
I was not into politics now I am
Everyone should have healthcare
Insurance companies shouldn’t rule
They shouldn’t set their own regulations
Oil companies should not be subsidized
The rich should be taxed
Unions should be strengthened
Wall Street executives should be in prison
The rich should pay on every dollar of social security
The rest of us under a hundred thousand did
Any company shipping jobs should be boycotted
Put their names in the paper
Protect social security
Get rid of laws saying companies are individuals
Don’t let small businesses have to pay healthcare
Get a national single payer system business will thrive
Strengthen the middle class and working people
Get rid of any politician in bed with money
Don’t let the press be controlled by corporations
Get rid of right-wingers that are cronies for the rich
Every kid should go to college not just the rich
Break up the pharmaceutical industries
Strengthen the minimum wage
Lets fight greed with all we have
Fight lobby dollars
Fight food industries make them take care of animals
Vote for your kid’s future and every real worker
Fight for your country to be more loving
I will fight for my dead fathers dignity
poem by Joseph Narusiewicz
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Freedom Fighter!
What is the use of having too much freedom,
When one fourth of you can't survive without a job,
After fourteen days in the western countries?
Liberty of having shelter, food and essentials are at stake,
One has no job and qualified to be cared and fed,
You are left to do whatever you like,
But your dialysis patients are faster to rest,
One dollar medicines are sold in many money fold,
Health care system is a scam and swindle.
You are rich, but indebted to every money lender,
How can you sleep peacefully with so many doubts,
You have sacrificed so much to get this freedom,
Sacrificed your freedom itself as you are given a timetable,
When mortgages, money and worldly things so crucial,
You have sacrificed many of your obligations essential.
Your children are still young at eighteen, but chased out,
In the name of freedom you showed them the path to hell,
Foul languages abundantly used even with parents and elders,
Parents are equally good at retaliation, if not the best,
Your women abandoned many of you to seek the solace,
In the bottles of alcohol and the road side mistresses,
What freedom are you talking about, when your mind is not free,
In certain places, people are happy and smile, as they are debt free.
poem by Veeraiyah Subbulakshmi
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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I Am... (I Am Not...)
i am the unions.
miners, teachers, steel workers,
nurses, factory workers,
standing strong and united,
demanding human decency,
fair wages and benefits.
i am not communism.
i am the common man and woman,
saying prayers with their hands
as they work;
driven by the faith in family,
teaching respect, gentleness,
and firm convictions
to their children.
i am not the elite.
i am the bruised, scarred human being.
i have fallen time and again.
i have built great dreams
that time has destroyed.
but i know what i believe,
and who i am.
i am not religious.
i am the multi-colored neighborhood.
different faiths, different languages,
the same needs and desires.
i am open conversation and acceptance.
i am not prejudice.
i am the day of revolution.
i am oppression cast off,
ignorance exposed;
i am equality, dignity,
and basic human rights.
i am not 'i, me, mine'.
i am the human condition...
evolving, changing, molded by fire,
i am the river that finds
it's way home...
i am not the end of time!
poem by Eric Cockrell
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Come On!
we live in an angry world...
victimized by indifference,
by greed, by intolerance...
we have lost direction.
and we are to blame.
we can go to the moon,
build great buildings, cross oceans,
talk to people around the world via the web...
yet we cannot stop hunger,
cannot eradicate poverty,
cannot provide shelter and medical care
to the masses...
come on!
we are led by insensitive wealthy people,
who sell our souls and bodies
for nickels and dimes...
who send us to fight their unjust wars,
who divide us by prejudice and religion.
and we let them!
we devour the dreams of our children,
for a moment of instant gratification.
we cast our elderly aside,
and prescribe pills for every occasion...
we speak passionately of god,
but dont even know ourselves.
we trade sensuality for cheap sex,
and fill our prisons with the hopeless.
are we then sheep?
or just cowards?
come on!
poem by Eric Cockrell
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Writing About - Hope
Every human being living on this earth hope for something
Poor people hope that one day money will come their way
The rich folks hope to multiply their assets before long
Several men hope for a wife who is as caring as their mother
Many women hope for husbands who is as loving as their father
Children always hope for parents who will give them everything
Bankers hope that everybody will pay their mortgages in time
Thieves and robbers hope the police should stop harassing them
While the police hope that every person will be law-abiding
Priests and clerics hope that everyone will live a sacred life
Experienced nurses hope the doctors will treat them with respect
Medical doctors hope their patients will recuperate faster
Careful drivers hope that other drivers will drive like them
Teachers hope all students will do their home-work regularly
While the students hope the teachers will give them easy exams
The colleges hope that all students will pay their tuition promptly
Farmers always hope for good and abundant harvest
Lawyers hope more and more people will need their services
Fishermen hope that more and more fishes run into their nets
School-girls always hope for rich and generous boy-friends
All politicians hope to get elected and re-elected
Employers hope their workers will volunteer for overtime
Every architect always hope to design the best building in town
Builders hope to showcase the tallest building as their own work
The mechanics always hope more people will buy used-vehicles
What are your personal hopes on this earth?
What are your hopes for your family?
What are your hopes for your country?
The day we humans stop hoping on this earth
Will be the day we cease to be members of this beautiful planet
Please remember to stay happy and cheerful
poem by Julius Babarinsa
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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