.

Patriotic

It’s really clever, isn’t it,
The words they use to smear us with?
They call the righteous hypocrite;
It’s just a ruse, veneer, a myth.
They’ve tried to make vile racist stick,
Then homophobe, supremacist,
Deplorable, and lunatic,
Transphobe, and misogynist.
I really don’t mind all the names,
The good see through to what is true,
But now they’re playing dangerous games,
They’re coming after me and you
With traitor and with terrorist
With Vicious INSURRECTIONIST.
Those charges warrant jail time;
Words are violence, thought is crime.

.

.

Mike Bryant is a poet and retired plumber living on the Gulf Coast of Texas.

NOTE TO READERS: If you enjoyed this poem or other content, please consider making a donation to the Society of Classical Poets.

The Society of Classical Poets does not endorse any views expressed in individual poems or commentary.


CODEC Stories:

28 Responses

  1. Julian D. Woodruff

    Tsk, Mike–what a whiner you are!

    When our manners or our morals fail,
    Of course we’ll be dragged off to jail.
    For thinking, after all, is very rude–
    The sign of a subversive attitude!
    Most “thinking terrorists” remain at large;
    Once caught, it’s jail–no need for formal charge.

    Thanks, Mike, for shining a light on one of the sleaziest episodes in American history

    Reply
    • Mike Bryant

      Right you are, Julian… I want to hear lots of whining for the peaceful protesters of January 6… talk about cruel and unusual punishment, I never thought the USA could stoop so low.

      We are all guilty of thought crime at this point. Soon Big Brother will step in and straighten out all the messy democracy that’s burgeoning. Forget “FOR THE PEOPLE, BY THE PEOPLE” it’s really, “FOR THE SHEEPLE, BY THE EVIL”

      Your poem is spot on!

      Reply
  2. Joseph S. Salemi

    What’s even worse than sleazy is the way in which these patriotic persons were brutalized, arrested, denied their legal rights, kept in prison for an outrageous length of time, and one of them was murdered by a trigger-happy guard who has yet to be charged with anything.

    We are living under a Communistic government, with a rainbow flag minus the hammer and sickle.

    Reply
    • Mike Bryant

      These men were there at the “People’s House” for all the right reasons and we need to do something about the injustice that is happening now. Joe, I agree with everything you’ve said, it is demonstrably true. The only thing I take issue with is “minus the hammer and sickle” the hammer and sickle is plainly visible on everything emanating from DC.

      Reply
  3. Sally Cook

    Awful beyond words, and what is worse, not one elected leader to help.

    Reply
    • Joseph S. Salemi

      You can’t expect anything from RINOs and middle-of-the-road temporizing cuckservatives. They just want people like us to disappear.

      Reply
    • Mike Bryant

      As Margaret has pointed out, Matt Gaetz and one or two more tried to visit the protesters more than once and they were left locked outside. How can this be happening?

      Reply
  4. Margaret Coats

    Nice work, Mike, with a sharp summary couplet.

    About Sally Cook’s complaint against elected leaders giving no help, we should acknowledge that Representatives Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, Matt Gaetz of Florida, and Louie Gohmert of Texas persisted in attempts to visit the January 6 prisoners. They had the right, the responsibility, and the duty to do this. In July 2021, they were asked to step outside the prison lobby as a health precaution, and told the head of the prison would meet them outdoors. When they complied, they were locked out of the building and given no further attention. Four months later, on their third attempt to visit, they were given a two-hour tour of the prison, but staff tried to end the tour without their seeing the January 6 prisoners. Greene insisted, and after meeting them wrote a report entitled “Unusually Cruel.”

    Reply
    • Mike Bryant

      Thank you, Margaret. I’m thrilled there are so many that understand what is actually happening. It looks like even our right-thinking representatives are being blocked.
      God help us. Thankfully, people all over the world are becoming more aware.

      Reply
  5. sally cook

    Thank you, Margaret. I have not seen mention of this anywhere.

    Reply
  6. Mike Bryant

    Just to give everyone an idea of where we are in this country. There are two senators from each state, one hundred senators.
    Our Senate yesterday voted on the question of whether to legally allow abortion up to the moment of birth. Forty-nine of the fifty Democrats voted YES… that’s just fine with us.
    I think the Republicans were just throwing us a bone so they can keep the big con game going. Why else won’t they help our patriots in political prison. Why will they not talk about ‘2,000 Mules’ the documentary that carefully lays out the evidence of our corrupt voting system. How many of our Republican representatives were installed by the same means?

    Reply
    • Joseph S. Salemi

      The bulk of the Republican Party is perfectly content to be a tolerated but powerless minority, as long as they get their perks and paychecks.

      Republican operatives call me every day, asking why I no longer contribute to the party, and begging me to “come back home.” I tell them that I am still a Sicilian, and I do not forgive the way they stabbed Trump in the back.

      Reply
      • Mike Bryant

        Joe, the World Economic Forum has placed their people in places of power all over the world. The USA was once the country of small business and our government was always engaged in trust busting… shutting down monopolies. Today the government is in bed with monopolies.
        “The World Economic Forum is an independent international organization committed to improving the state of the world by engaging business, political, academic and other leaders of society to shape global, regional and industry agendas.”
        Where do “We, the people” fit in their brave new world? I’ll tell you… we are the cattle.

        Isn’t it odd that baby formula is kept off the shelves in the USA and Britain while Europe has no shortage? Isn’t it odd that Amazon, a monopoly, has plenty on hand for next day delivery?
        We are being manipulated.

    • Margaret Coats

      Thanks for supplying the link, Mike. The article gives a few details of the conditions where the prisoners are held, but also provides a link to Congresswoman Greene’s full report at her official site. It’s a lengthy description of her tour of the prison with her staff, who recorded and took notes of everything. Paul Freeman is correct that we need the novel 1984 as a warning, but Greene’s “Unusually Cruel” is a detailed eyewitness description of current facts. The first part tells how non-political prisoners are faring. Skip to the last third of the report if you only want to hear what occurred during the meeting with January 6 prisoners and what they had to say.

      Reply
      • Mike Bryant

        Thank you Margaret. I must say that I am very proud of the SCP and all those poets here who are standing up for political prisoners in the USA and in other authoritarian regimes all over the world.

  9. Paul Freeman

    ‘1984’ seems to be getting a lot of mentions on this thread.

    As a warning against totalitarianism, I recommend people read it.

    Reply
  11. C.B. Anderson

    One thing I’ve noticed about most Texans, Mike, is that they are straight shooters. I wouldn’t want to cross you.

    Reply
    • Joseph S. Salemi

      Kip, your comment reminds me of something about the venerable stage-and-screen actor Adolphe Menjou. He was ferociously anti-Communist, and an active member of the old John Birch Society. Late in life he announced that he was moving to Texas. He gave this reason for the move: “Texans will shoot Communists on sight.”

      Reply
    • Susan Jarvis Bryant

      C.B., the ladies at the hair salon machete rattle snakes before they slither onto cream carpets… and I thought the Brits were gritty. Don’t mess with Texans 😉

      Reply
    • Mike Bryant

      Hey, Kip, thanks for the comment. You don’t have to worry about me. I’m a pussycat. We Texans talk real slow like, but we think fast… never half fast.

      Reply
  12. Brian Yapko

    Mike, I’m sorry for such a long delay in commenting on your poem (I’ve been a bit distracted!) Let me compliment you both on the fine writing and on the important message that you’re communicating. The technique of agitprop that you describe threatens its victims with outrageous overstatement in the hope of thereby shutting down speech. It is a vile, dangerous and abusive form of miscommunication which leftists revel in using and which is defamatory, inflammatory and deeply hurtful. For myself, every time some insane leftist accuses Israel of “genocide” I feel like I’ve been punched in the stomach from having a lie spouted which is so brazen and indifferent to the hurt it causes so long as it promotes the false ideology. When argument doesn’t work, leftists throw out an insult. When that doesn’t work they jump ahead to the nuclear bomb. This is the pattern of French revolutionaries, of Bolsheviks and of Cultural Revolutionaries. To see it happen yet again in our own country can either lead to cow-towing disheartenment or to in-your-face extreme anger. I choose the latter and am glad that poets such as yourself are willing to express the truth — even if done in anger — so that it can be seen and heard.

    Reply
    • Mike Bryant

      Thanks, Brian. The state of discourse in our world is abominable. The commies are just doing what commies always do. We just have to keep calling them out.

      Reply
  13. Mike Bryant

    Patriotic

    It’s really clever, isn’t it,
    The words they use to smear us with?
    They call the righteous hypocrite;
    It’s just a ruse, veneer, a myth.
    They’ve tried to make vile racist stick,
    Then homophobe, supremacist,
    Deplorable, and lunatic,
    Transphobe, and misogynist.
    I really don’t mind all the names,
    The good see through to what is true,
    But now they’re playing dangerous games,
    They’re coming after me and you
    With traitor and with terrorist
    With Vicious INSURRECTIONIST.
    Those charges warrant jail time;
    Words are violence, thought is crime.
    However since our God is true
    Then Satan’s reign is way past overdue.

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.

Captcha loading...

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.