Sunday, August 04, 2013

595 : The Choice


Three Word Wednesday requires participants
to use the three words of the week in a composition.
The words this week were Jackass, Splendid and Rupture.

The Choice.

When you choose the lesser of two evils, 
always remember that it is still an evil.
- Max Lerner 

Election propaganda comes
In a way you can’t suppress,
Offering Jackass 1 or 2,
With their splendid hollowness.

The choice,
For us, the public voice,
Swimming against the stream:
Choose the lesser of two evils,
And rupture our self esteem.
.
---
© J Cosmo Newbery 2013
---


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32 comments:

  1. My partner is not on the electoral roll - and this year a small part of me envies him.
    A pox on both their houses...

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  2. Oh, dear! Are you in the midst of an election? And what's this about Kevin et al. ganging up on Julia. Good grief; I'm a month (or so) late on all the gossip. An un-aware Bear!

    I know that it's hard to accept that our politicians are bought and paid for by business interests, but that is the "new normal" in democratic jurisdictions these days. Probably has been for a long time.

    Blessings and Bear hugs!
    desert.epiphanies@sasktel.net
    Bears Noting
    Life in the Urban Forest (poetry)

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    1. Rupert is the supreme paymaster, by all accounts. Happily the print media's influence is waning.

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  3. It just reflects the situation in real life trying to choose between the devil and the deep blue sea.Go for the lesser of two evils. When I see Tony Abbot in his budgie smugglers as Prime Minister I think of moving to another planet:)Criiiiiiiiiiiinge!

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  4. The illustration: is that the lesser of two weasels, by any chance?

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  5. true true.. i like the closing line.

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  6. The last line almost sounds like a ruptured spleen - an appropriate echo. The hollow splendour of thorny politics seems to be alive and well everywhere. A fine poem.

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    1. If only they would govern sednsible once elected but the prime focus once being electred is to be reelected. I argue for single term politicians, then they may leave a legacy. Well, a positive one at least.

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  7. very confusing to chose between two

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  8. yeah, i n the end we get to vote for their choices of who they think would be good for our country...democracy at its finest...fooling the people into thinking they have the say....

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  9. What a tight piece~ ha, with Jackass as one of the word choices, where else to go but politics. You did this with wonderful wit~

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  10. I have had to vote in elections like this!! Not pleasant.

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  11. I vote every year, even if politics makes me ill. I believe the main problem is that the seats these politicians are competing for comes with power, so they attract people in search of that...which in turn, brings a disorganized race of dishonest megalomaniacs knocking each other down along the way. Unfortunately, the percentage of those that are driven to the positive side of the potential difference they can make by changing things for the better, is so microscopic.

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  12. That ending just punches ~ The lesser of the two evils is just as greedy and manipulative ~ I don't believe there is a true stateman running for elections ~

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    1. No. Hasn't been for a while. Politics is a business and teh business model is 'to be elected', not 'to govern responsibly'.

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  13. It is sad how much our view of politicians and world leaders has gotten so cynical. Where are the leaders that will inspire us to loftier goals and moral human achievements?

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  14. Jackasses or Jackals? It's all so sordid. Succinct and powerfully put.

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  15. Yes as Anna stated - "powerfully put"!

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  16. Perfectly put! I have become so cynical about politics of any kind.

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  17. We recently had an election JUST LIKE that - there was not even a Green candidate on the ballot, in an area whose old growth has been basically Disappeared! Argh.

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  18. So true its hard to be happy about an election or even choose when you dislike both

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  19. A tough call during elections..I guess you just try to pick the best of the two evils.

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  20. You've hit the nail on the head and created an excellent poem with the unvarnished truth. The Devil has had a lot of play lately.

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  21. Smart choice of words...bold poem

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  22. It makes you wonder if adding a third choice of "neither" might produce better candidates.

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  23. I've made the choice to "shut-down" over the next five weeks! ;)

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  24. I used to like the option of numbering 1 and 2 and having the legal option to go 3333333333333 for the rest of the candidates. I still vote knowing my vote will be diluted of its original pure content to end up in the sludge of one political pit or another, neither of my choice. But not to vote at all seems to me disrespectful to those who fought on our behalf. Surely our choice is to care or not about the honesty of the process and fight to ensure just that!

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    Replies
    1. It's not a great choice but it is a choice.

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