Misdirection

Some dictionaries and encyclopedias still define “fascism” as a far-right system of rule. They need to look again.

The Party of self-righteousness,
Imbued with far-left chatter.
Deeds implemented and condoned,
Rungs on the fascist ladder.

 

 

Speech

Liberty,
Guaranteed,
Everywhere.
Beware of those
Who do not care.

Freedom,
The heritage
Our founders chose.
Beware of all
Who are opposed.

Rights,
The bedrock,
To speak our piece.
Beware the hour
It could cease.

 

 

Mainstream Media

The MSM has plainly made
Regime change its objective.
Sheer bias thoroughly pervades
Its wholly false invective.

It gave up objectivity
For stark one-sided views.
And its entrenched proclivity
To not report the news.

 

 

Mr. Winick recently started writing poetry at nearly age 65, after ending a long legal career. He resides in Naperville, Illinois.

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28 Responses

  1. Joe Tessitore

    Very brief, very powerful, and very much to the point.

    A wake-up call if there ever was one.

    Reply
  2. Julian D. Woodruff

    The 4th estate’s entrenched proclivity to not report the news”: a potentially lethal blow to government by, for, and of the people. Fair warning, Mr. Winick. Thanks!

    Reply
    • Russel Winick

      Thank you. I never imagined, while reading Orwell’s novels as a high school sophomore 50 years ago, that living in my country would ever begin to mirror what he wrote about.

      Reply
      • Julian Woodruff

        Is what happened to Germany in the ’20s and ’30s happening to us?

  3. Elizabeth Valerie Wyler

    Good Morning! The 3rd poem (Mainstream Media) is my favorite because it gave me a strong emotional reaction. No one is perfect, including Trump. However, if you listen to CNN and MSN, their “news” consists almost ENTIRELY of anti-Trump stories, which line up like planes on a runway. A new one takes off every other minute. I suspect that TDS (Trump Derangement Syndrome) is a job requirement to be employed by CNN and MSN. If an employee becomes cured of TDS, perhaps s/he can go out on disability? Or, maybe s/he is just simply fired.

    Reply
    • Margaret Coats

      “Planes on a runway, with a new one taking off every other minute” is quite an effective image for this phenomenon!

      Reply
    • Russel

      Thank you Elizabeth. Today’s cancel culture is vastly different than anything commonly advocated back in my (long ago) liberal days. Scary on many levels.

      Reply
  5. Cynthia Erlandson

    Good poems, with originality in meter and structure. I especially like that you point out the misuse and abuse of the word “fascism”. I’ve noticed so much language abuse lately, in wrong definitions of the words “justice” and “protest” (used to mean riots, for instance); “science” (so often used by those who don’t know what it is); “essential” (who gets to decide?); “diversity” (excluding those with whom the left disagrees — and anyway, why is it better than unity?) “Fact-checker” now means censor; “emergencies” now last indefinitely; “love” often means perversion. Thank you for these poems.

    Reply
    • Sally Cook

      Absolutely.People used to know that words mean things; that truth is truth. Today most all is lies, of which the devil is the prince.

      Reply
      • Cynthia Erlandson

        Thank you, Sally. This is why we who love words have to keep writing.

  6. Susan Jarvis Bryant

    Russel, these three succinct and perspicacious poems say so much about the misconceptions many have in these duplicitous days. I love the way you’ve used this creative medium to make a huge point in an engaging and educative way. I may well print them off and pop them in my pocket in anticipation of my next contentious political encounter. 😉 Thank you and well done!

    Reply
    • Russel Winick

      Thank you Susan – that means a lot, considering how much I’ve enjoyed your work!
      Russel

      Reply
  7. Margaret Coats

    Short, effective poems like these can provide good talking points or memorable mottos. I’m going to remember “rungs on the fascist ladder.” Best wishes for a lengthy poetic career, Mr. Winick.

    Reply
  8. David Paul Behrens

    The heading for this post begins with “A Poem on the Real Definition of Fascism.” I completely understand the sentiments behind this set of poems and I generally agree, but we must rely on common definitions of the words we use in order to communicate. This is why we have a dictionary, which I regard as the Bible of Communication. We cannot go around making up our own definitions or else communication will ultimately be lost. Therefore, in order for the definition of “fascism” to be real, it must be in the dictionary.

    Reply
    • C.B. Anderson

      But don’t forget, D.P., that the dictionary does not prescribe, but only DE-scribes, when it comes to meaning and pronunciation.

      Reply
    • Russel Winick

      Mr Behrens – you are right. All definitions currently limited to “right wing” should be revised to reflect reality. Thanks.
      Russel

      Reply
  9. David Paul Behrens

    In the realm of political philosophy, the extreme right wing is fascism and the extreme left wing is communism. Both extremes are totalitarian dictatorships and therefore intolerable.

    Reply
  10. Julian D. Woodruff

    Webster’s 3rd is descriptive, which we like: because meanings change, don’t they? (We just have to do our best to see that they change the way we want, right?) Webster’s 2nd is prescriptive, so bad (except for folks like my parents): use the words the way we used ’em back then, e.g., “comprehensive health care for women.”

    Reply
  11. Rod Walford

    If I were the subject of your poems Russel, I would consider myself hit squarely on the head – and fairly too. Great work !

    Reply
  12. David Watt

    Russell, you have made your point effectively, with a minimum of words.
    It’s so true that the MSM presents anything but real news.

    Reply

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