Virtue Signal

To the two bit hack
Who thinks he's saying something
About the issues
Every age has had its fight
A cause one could believe in
The low hanging fruit of coolness
The division between the "smart" and the mocked
You scream in the mic
Words from someone else
You're a clone
Weak and unable to take up arms
Your sacred cow is hollow
And emaciated
Never held up too high for too long
Before a new one takes the pedestal
You hate me though you don't know me
You insult me though you don't know my voice
You won't debate me because it's all settled
Yet tomorrow it will be contradicted
And denied
You'll be gaslit and you'll call me crazy
For pointing out your very words from yesterday
For denying your truth which changes
Faster than the tides
Dictated by powers stronger than the pull of the moon on the waves
They've got your mind
And have you believing you're so unique
When you haven't one original thought
Fight the power you say
With one hand out stroking the egos of those who give you a pulpit
You really think they'd let you speak
With a voice of your own?
You have talent
But nothing more.

You say whatever makes you feel better
About your useless life
Whatever the crisis du jour
You shout until you're blue in the face
But there's nothing you can do
While the planet melts
While viruses eat our soon to be corpses
Or wars ravage the other side of the globe
You're raising "awareness"
But it doesn't take balls to speak
In the echo chambers we fill
Yelling about trials real or imagined.

We see true courage in those who take up arms
And stand in front of tanks
And bleed for their freedom
Would you do the same?
Or would you cower and beg?
Would you expect the government to save you?
That very same power who brought you into this mess
With its power hungry behemoth
Will eat you and never spit out the bones.
Be yourself not a cog
Don’t be a beast
Truly struggle for struggle is what makes you human
Don’t expect ease and peace for life is a battle
Within and without
And you're too weak to fight either.

It doesn't take a man to say "Fuck war"
Or fight the many - isms that we all agree are evil.
It takes a man to fight his own war
For his own mind
And his own land
And the rights of others to theirs.