Been thinking a lot about linkage:
of
globalization to Westernization to corporatization to commercialism to conformism to cross-cultural imperialism to ignorance of cultural literacy to reduction of indigenous cultures to inroads made by media conglomerates
to
the trivialization and co-optation of genuine feeling and spontaneous art
to
the pop-cultural primacy of the Holy Greed Ghost, haunting the world for so long and so hard
that
it now only takes one second to reach out and touch anyone you know and therefore the speed of connection reduces the need to consider its impact
while
millions remain locked away from the means of connection, health, justice, peace, freedom, and voice
just as
million of others do not understand the difference between their definition of poverty and the truth of most poverty
which
renders them incapable of seeing the Other: the person
they might have been except for
accidents of birth
And if all this ends up sounding like
a Slam Poem
And if all this makes you want to say
that it’s just too much to deal with
then
get out of here and
buy the thing that makes you forget
it has been said
Dark Matter 
January 23rd, 2004 at 7:00 pm
Thanks, all. Funny thing is,
I never meant this to be a poem at all, just a way of jumpstarting the political awareness muscles I’ve been letting atrophy.
Obviously, miles of available poetry deep in each link named…
January 23rd, 2004 at 5:44 pm
Remind me to lend you, “What should I do if the Reverend Billy is in my store?” Victor got it for me for Christmas & it covers a lot of similar territory with ‘The Church of Stop Shopping’.
January 23rd, 2004 at 5:24 pm
love the dark humor at the end. can’t resist quoting ernie cline here:
When you go sprinting through the Mall
desperate to fill the emptiness in your life
through the purchase of name brand clothing and electronics-
You will never achieve satisfaction.
Because the one brand name you really want
is the one you can never have.
Airwolf?
Oh, I’m sorry, we’re all sold out.
That item was only available for a very limited time
and in very limited supply.
One.
And only one man stepped forward to purchase it.
String Fellow Hawk!
fave line: the difference between their defintion of poverty and the truth of most poverty.
January 23rd, 2004 at 5:08 pm
*goes shopping, absolutely self-righteously*
😉
nicely said.