Falling isn't Flying
a question of relativism
what is hate speech
who determines the line that is drawn
what is hate speech, what is not
where exactly is that line
who draws it and why
and would that be absolute?
can it be hate speech if it's true?
if you can show something to be true,
how can you possibly be labeled a hater?
who labels you but the ones purveying
what has been shown to be untrue
and those that fear them
how is it, that in the land of the free,
the purveyor of the lie
can claim the right of truth
over the purveyor of Truth
does the lie make us free?
where do we find ourselves these days
and where are we going with this?
and what of the transgression perceived
by who's leave shall you not believe
or stand by what you believe
who's to say, barring faithful test,
that perception is beyond question?
how can what is condemned for some be approved for others
and said to be done in the name of justice?
especially since the rights of those now approved
were realized from the legacy
of the very ethic they now condemn
can you reverse the past
merely by its inverse
or do you just repeat it?
if it's the latter,
we will end up in the same place
going round in circles
with only a pretext of forward
meanwhile,
under the glare of the gaslight,
too many turn indifferent
too many are moved only to get
through the day and go their own way
and little else compels
unless it interferes with that
the irony is, while this goes on,
it will interfere with that
caught up in an ever-searching spin
as a compass chasing an elusive north
locked in perpetual revolution
when liberty is denied to some,
ascribing Truth subjectively
vitiates any authentic common bond from which to reconcile
with increasing pressure, cohesion eventually breaks down
from factious coercion to otherize one another
until liberty is denied to all
at first, some may celebrate this break down as liberating
until it turns on them and they find there's nowhere left to turn
left unchecked, all had been ground to dust
under the wheel of the ever-turning lie
this is where we're going with this
who, in the home of the brave,
stands up to this divide against itself?
only a bold but endangered few
for they know at the moment they do,
they will receive the mark when cast in the pit of their affliction
but blessed are the weak for they shall remain silent
and the silent will merit their dearth
all it ever takes is all it takes
where then have the vertebrates gone?
taken to going along with the flow
when they think that will get them where they want to go
but beware the momentum of the unforeseen descent
for that oncoming tumult you're hearing is not the wind
when the backbone lay supine
and ignorance crowns the pretender king,
what castrates the courageous and consigns them eunuchs of the court?
conformity
yet conformity can be divisive
for conformity becomes the antagonist
when subterfuge for egoism
when freedom becomes tyranny
it's steeped in a felicitous brew
therein lies the delusion
here we are frogs in a pot
ready to boil
only liberty ensures truth
only Truth ensures justice
and only justice ensures liberty
now with the interwoven fabric of society
ripped asunder,
pulling on any self-interested thread
frays the once sublime raiment
to disreputable rags
the lie desires to eclipse the light
for the dark would masquerade as light
yet it's when confronted with the light
that the dark reveals its utter darkness
the hate comes from the one who would outlaw
the right to know and stand by the Truth
and behind a suicidal zeal
provide the impetus
for when on the brink of the abyss,
gravity takes hold
what is hate speech
who determines the line that is drawn
what is hate speech, what is not
where exactly is that line
who draws it and why
and would that be absolute?
can it be hate speech if it's true?
if you can show something to be true,
how can you possibly be labeled a hater?
who labels you but the ones purveying
what has been shown to be untrue
and those that fear them
how is it, that in the land of the free,
the purveyor of the lie
can claim the right of truth
over the purveyor of Truth
does the lie make us free?
where do we find ourselves these days
and where are we going with this?
and what of the transgression perceived
by who's leave shall you not believe
or stand by what you believe
who's to say, barring faithful test,
that perception is beyond question?
how can what is condemned for some be approved for others
and said to be done in the name of justice?
especially since the rights of those now approved
were realized from the legacy
of the very ethic they now condemn
can you reverse the past
merely by its inverse
or do you just repeat it?
if it's the latter,
we will end up in the same place
going round in circles
with only a pretext of forward
meanwhile,
under the glare of the gaslight,
too many turn indifferent
too many are moved only to get
through the day and go their own way
and little else compels
unless it interferes with that
the irony is, while this goes on,
it will interfere with that
caught up in an ever-searching spin
as a compass chasing an elusive north
locked in perpetual revolution
when liberty is denied to some,
ascribing Truth subjectively
vitiates any authentic common bond from which to reconcile
with increasing pressure, cohesion eventually breaks down
from factious coercion to otherize one another
until liberty is denied to all
at first, some may celebrate this break down as liberating
until it turns on them and they find there's nowhere left to turn
left unchecked, all had been ground to dust
under the wheel of the ever-turning lie
this is where we're going with this
who, in the home of the brave,
stands up to this divide against itself?
only a bold but endangered few
for they know at the moment they do,
they will receive the mark when cast in the pit of their affliction
but blessed are the weak for they shall remain silent
and the silent will merit their dearth
all it ever takes is all it takes
where then have the vertebrates gone?
taken to going along with the flow
when they think that will get them where they want to go
but beware the momentum of the unforeseen descent
for that oncoming tumult you're hearing is not the wind
when the backbone lay supine
and ignorance crowns the pretender king,
what castrates the courageous and consigns them eunuchs of the court?
conformity
yet conformity can be divisive
for conformity becomes the antagonist
when subterfuge for egoism
when freedom becomes tyranny
it's steeped in a felicitous brew
therein lies the delusion
here we are frogs in a pot
ready to boil
only liberty ensures truth
only Truth ensures justice
and only justice ensures liberty
now with the interwoven fabric of society
ripped asunder,
pulling on any self-interested thread
frays the once sublime raiment
to disreputable rags
the lie desires to eclipse the light
for the dark would masquerade as light
yet it's when confronted with the light
that the dark reveals its utter darkness
the hate comes from the one who would outlaw
the right to know and stand by the Truth
and behind a suicidal zeal
provide the impetus
for when on the brink of the abyss,
gravity takes hold