Poetry – My Culture – a poem about the struggle for freedom and equality.
My Culture
The society we live in did not come about by chance; it was fought for every inch of the way by people with vision and aspiration. The peasants and serfs were kept in poverty but they were not stupid. The robber barons stole the land from under their feet and they were powerless. The wealthy businessmen stole their products through guile. The State enacted laws to protect the establishment and keep the poor in their place.
With the coming of the industrial revolution ordinary people were kept down. They were paid a pittance in order to keep the profits high. The bosses creamed off huge wealth while the workers slaved. The owners and aristocrats lived in mansions and palaces with servants while the producers of the wealth lived in poverty and working conditions that were scandalous.
Gradually the ordinary people fought for representation, fair reward for labour given and justice. Ever so gradually the work conditions improved and the wages rose. Each step on the way was met with bleating and violence. The establishment was loath to give up its luxury; they feared the result of suffrage for ordinary people. They believed we might change the laws to create fairness.
They give us as little as they think they can buy us off with. Only through the unions was a living wage grudgingly conceded. Their fear is revolution.
This society we live in is the result of struggle. The freedoms we have are tenuous. The establishment claw back all they can. The wealth still sticks with the elite. The trickle down is as meagre as required to keep us docile. Zero hours contracts, austerity, unemployment and pay freezes are deployed while the rich get richer. We are all in it together is a lie. Information is biased and distorted – the Daily Mail and the rest of the press, even the BBC are all part of an establishment. He who tells the story controls the minds. The media moguls have a vested interest.
Democracy is a fragile thing and bought with blood – lots of blood.
My Culture
This is my culture – the wisdom of my ways.
Suppression and oppression – the order of past days.
Freed into the sunlight – on a democratic wave.
Released from penury – and the status of a slave.
The blood of my forebears sinks heavy in this soil
They paid dear for a share of the profits from their toil.
They fought for their rights and freedoms against a selfish few
Who garnered all the wealth away and propped up many a pew.
This is my culture – the result of battles fought.
Standing up for rights – against a great onslaught.
Liberty and equality – to stand tall and not in fear.
Freedom from King and God – is a right that we hold dear.
From the wealthy, the bishops and the kings
We wrested back our freedoms, among a host of things.
They grudgingly relented to give the very least
And we seized the goods on offer from the Baron and the Priest.
This is now my culture – value it we must!
If once our eyes do stray away – they’ll fling it in the dust.
Rights and freedoms – are febrile in the light.
They’ll rip them away – they have the power and the might.
I give thanks to the Levellers, the Chartists and rebels all,
Without all their struggles we would not have a life at all.
The suffragettes and Wilberforce struck blows for equality.
They chipped away at oppression and left us democracy.
This is that culture – worthy of a fight!
Free of church and monarchy – valiant and bright!
A culture to be proud of in which I take delight.
Proud to be an Englishman and put the world to right!
Not as an exploiter, a victor or an owner with his fee
But as a friend, a fellow traveller, a champion of the free.
Together we could stand to create justice without tyranny
Take the best from all our cultures and live in harmony.
I offer the hand of friendship
But keep a wary eye.
Freedom is a very rare thing,
But seize it we must try!
Opher 18.8.2015
Opher – I recall reading this succinct, poignant and expressive poem once before. It has lost none of its intrinsic truth, or its passionate appeal being read again. I think the endless struggle for equality, liberty, and freedom continues to this day. Nothing truly changes: governments come and go, but the establishment always remains firmly committed to enforcing its own agenda, separate to our own, whilst simultaneously widening ever-deeper divisions between political classes and the general public. Essentially, governments want nothing less than full compliance and subservience, which will never happen. And so the fight is for Justice and the removal of tyranny.
The top 1% of home-owners hold 43% of the world’s wealth. The bottom 53% hold only 1% of the world’s wealth. This statistic explains why governments align themselves so readily with those who have wealth and tailor policy accordingly, but offer mere concessionary breadcrumbs to the rest of us. Their parasitic world revolves around Power and Money, our fragile world revolves around struggle and survival.
At some point the establishment’s grubby, self-serving train, running round and round the same tired old tracks will be derailed. It will be our independence day.
DN
As you say – it has always been thus. Idealistically I would like to believe that we can change this inherent wrongness and make a better fairer world. That has been the focus of my life. I put my faith in education.
Very good. ‘Democracy is a fragile thing and bought with blood – lots of blood.’ Very apt.
Thank you. Let us hope the world returns to peace and harmony!!
Thank You, brother Opho.
You’re welcome!!
🙂