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"What was war?"
I want to live in a world
where my daughter asks me
"What was war?"
Perhaps that is too much to hope,
but I have always had high expectations
of the human species.
I have cherished dreams
of smiling children
unafraid of pollution,
unafraid of nuclear fallout,
unafraid of God
or others sharing their Latin name.
I have dreamed of a return
to what is essential
rather than what is easy
or cheap
or materially enriching;
a return to introspection,
intellectualism, innocence
in a world where life is not a fight
for power,
but a debate
for enlightenment.
I want to live in a world
where my son asks me
"What were hate crimes?"
Perhaps this dream is too big --
I have realized
that when you are fighting for humanity,
you often find that your greatest opponent
is humanity itself.
But although we are our own infection,
we are also the only thing
that could ever save us.
And for the most "sophisticated,"
"civilized" species on earth,
I do not think
that this is too much
to hope for.
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-- Eve Merriam
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Someday they'll give a war and nobody will come."
-- Carl Sandburg
Just me, being a hippie.