What Is True?

The sun came up; the alarm went off; 

I got out of bed

Noise from the street below

A cacophony in my head

Sounding over the peaceful voices

Of dreams from over the rainbow

So I turned them off, tuned them out

And sauntered to the window

A freckle-faced town crier

Cried all about the news

The people all lined up with 

Whichever Party they hewed

“Extra extra,” he yelled, 

“Read about the search for truth.

Your leaders are lying;

With facts they’re playing fast and loose”

The curiosity of the crowd was piqued

The other side about to be exposed

A quiet rumble rolled through them all

Finally they could humiliate their foes

“What is it boy?” someone yelled

“Tell us who told the lie.”

“Yeah, speak up, boy.” yelled another

“Heads will roll; this’ll never fly”

“You don’t understand,” the boy said

“People lie all the time; that’s not news

But we just accept whatever is said

As long as it confirms our views.

“And our views are dictated by our Party

We’re not allowed to form our own

Think I’m kidding, just try it

From your Party you’ll quickly be disowned”

“What are you saying, boy,” a voice rose 

“Just whose side are you on?

Are you trying to tell me that

I’m the one they’re putting on?”

“I’m not telling you anything,” the boy said

“I’m just saying what’s written here,”

Pointing at the paper he continued

“They’ve laid it all out crystal clear

“We’re just pawns in their game

We’re playing the part of their stooge

They accumulate wealth and power

While we’re the ones who loose.

“They find the slightest provocation

They could possibly dig up

Then twist it ’til it looks evil

And say, ‘With this are you going to put up?’

“They play on our emotions

Get us worked into a frenzy

Then when we’re not thinking straight

They say our neighbor is our enemy

“They point at you,” he said, pointing to

A farmer standing near his plow

“And call you a redneck racist because

The milk is white that comes from your cow

“And you,” he said pointing to another man

With hair growing over his shoulder

“They call you a socialist because you think

We should share our surplus with our neighbor

“And in our quieter moments we know 

These accusations are wildly untrue

But we believe them simply because

That’s what our Party told us to do

“And we don’t want to look foolish

To look like we just don’t get it

So we raise our fist and our voice

Take the easy route, go along with it”

“Now hold on, boy,” a burly one countered

“I’m no pushover, I’m no one’s patsy”

“That’s right,” said one with glasses and a book

“I’m an independent thinker not someone’s lackey”

“Don’t bring me into this; these aren’t my words,” 

The boy said retorting

“Don’t confuse the messenger with the message 

I’m not advocating, only reporting

“The articles says to look at the issues,

For example, by looking at extremes

In most cases we wouldn’t be on either end

But somewhere in between

“But Party leaders will have none of that

Any compromise is seen as a threat

Whether it’s a baby at 30 weeks

Or an immigrant whose not citizen yet

“In both cases there’s no doubt

With some discussion we could agree

But that would weaken each Party’s hold

They have on you and me

“So they prevent discussion

By calling the other evil, bad, no good

And we fall in line with the theme

But resist it is what we should”

From my window I slowly scanned

The crowd from east to west

I saw heads slowly start nodding

And a murmur spreading, “yes, yes”

People began looking at each other

Across the Party divide 

And for many, for the first time

They looked their neighbor in the eye 

"This is just what the article predicted"

The boy shouted to the crowd

"This is just the beginning 

Stay together, our leaders will be cowed

"If we demand truth, if their lies

We will not tolerate,

If we refuse to go along

With their attempt to make us hate,

"If we show compassion for all,

If we recognize each other's humanity,

If we allow for each other's imperfections

We can return to a place of sanity

"We can take control of our future

But they won't give up power without a fight

So be prepared for a counterattack 

'Cause these guys prefer darkness to light"

If hope were tangible I'd swear you could see it

The tension, so prevalent at first, abated

People came together for the very first time

As the line between the Parties attenuated

Suddenly something caught my eye

Drawing my attention

Disappointment flowed through me

As I recognized the intention

On one side I saw several red caps

Moving slowly, whispering in ears

Blue caps on the other did the same

Their purpose was all too clear

After these private whispers

Each person visibly changed their expression

Slowly the dividing line reappeared

The erstwhile peace gave way to aggression

"Judas!" someone yelled anonymously,

"This has got to stop!"

What looked like scribes and Pharisees

Urged all to pick up rocks

"This boy is a traitor

Don't listen to his hurtful words"

I couldn't believe what I was seeing

What was happening was truly absurd

It'll take an investigation to learn

From where the first rock was thrown

But with the volley that followed

I'm not sure the truth will ever be known

It was many a rock that hit its mark

Whether thrown by red or blue

Once again, they killed the messenger

Who only asked, "What Is True?"

September 2016