Choosing Love Over Hate: A Radical Shift

This Poem was a collaboration between me and my Dear Friend Pixie Bruner who can be found at the following link

https://pixiebruner.substack.com

Blood In The Air, and Blood In The Water is a battle cry for those who are tired of division and hate. Tired of the hypocrisy of those we let be in charge, who force feed us lies and division.

Blood in the air, and blood in the water

There’s blood in the air and blood in the water 

And on the ground, seeping across the globe 

We’ve all forgotten who the real enemies are 

And so we attack each other 

Attracting sharks and wolves 

Instead of working together we’ve bought the lies 

Sold by the politicians  

Sold by the false preachers who preach nothing but hate 

We’ve told ourselves lies as well selling false comfort 

We’ve bought into the lies hook, line, and sinker 

Allowing ourselves to be bought and sold 

Body, mind, and soul 

We’ve bought into the idea 

That disagreement is tantamount to violence 

That hurt feelings can be responded to with violence 

That tolerance is a one way street where only one side 

Gets to decide what should be tolerated 

When you tolerate hatred on either side 

You’ve become what you hated 

And hypocrisy of the highest order is your reward 

Have we truly forgotten ourselves so much 

Debate is radical now  

Love is radical now 

Listening without judgment is radical now 

We have been bought, sold, and traded so often  

Sold down the river again, and again 

We’ve forgotten our own names 

Slaves to a system where freedom, and security is promised to us as surveillance 

But instead of freedom, and security we receive subjugation and theater 

The privilege of privacy is restricted to the rich and powerful 

And we all end up living in fear 

Causing us to forget that the lies we have bought into 

Are even lies to begin with 

We have forgotten so much of who we were and who we were meant to be 

That we have forgotten who the real enemies are 

That we can’t even see the ones who call for the violent rhetoric 

As the wolves and sharks that they are 

Feeding on the blood we spill off each other 

Off the chaos that they have sown 

Off the disorder that they create  

Perpetuating the cycle that enables them to stay in power 

And keep us in submission 

Warring against each other 

Keeping any real positive change from happening  

Both sides play us off each other 

One side plays the oppressor and the other makes us part of the victim narrative 

Which side does which changes on the issue 

But what if we refuse both 

What if we refuse to be the oppressor and refuse to be the victim 

I refuse to purchase the falsehoods any longer 

I refuse to partake in the bloodshed they call for 

I choose Love and Reality 

I choose civil discourse and debate 

I choose to listen without judgment 

I choose to not live in lies, fear, and hate 

I choose to live in love, courage, and truth