Saturday, August 20, 2011

What he said.

A Pict Song

Rome never looks where she treads,
Always her heavy hooves fall
On our stomachs, our hearts or our heads;
And Rome never heeds when we bawl.
Her sentries pass on – that is all,
And we gather behind them in hordes,
And plot to reconquer the Wall,
With only our tongues for our swords.

We are the Little Folk – we!
Too little to love or to hate.
Leave us alone and you'll see
How we can drag down the Great!
We are the worm in the wood!
We are the rot in the root!
We are the germ in the blood!
We are the thorn in the foot!

Mistletoe killing an oak –
Rats gnawing cables in two –
Moths making holes in a cloak –
How they must love what they do!
Yes – and we Little Folk too,
We are as busy as they –
Working our works out of view –
Watch, and you'll see it some day!

No indeed! We are not strong,
But we know Peoples that are.
Yes, and we'll guide them along,
To smash and destroy you in War!
We shall be slaves just the same?
Yes, we have always been slaves,
But you – you will die of the shame,
And then we shall dance on your graves!

We are the Little Folk – we!
Too little to love or to hate.
Leave us alone and you'll see
How we can drag down the Great!
We are the worm in the wood!
We are the rot in the root!
We are the germ in the blood!
We are the thorn in the foot!


– Rudyard Kipling


I've just about had enough.

Between what now passes for "political discourse" and the general, "IF YOU TRY TO REASON WITH ME I'M JUST GOING TO YELL EVEN LOUDER!!!" attitude of the general public on any and every issue, political or otherwise, I'm ashamed of and disappointed in all of us.

No longer is this the country my grandfather fought for or the country my grandmother emigrated to.

Normally I'd want to do my part to fix this, but I think we've already gone past the tipping point.

Right now, however, I just want to pack my bags and leave.

So, before I depart, here's a short list of what drove me out:
  • Phony Christians
  • Not-so-thinly-veiled racism
  • Anti-intellectualism
  • Economic discrimination
  • Willful ignorance of history
  • People who don't know the difference between "socialism" and "fascism" calling other people "socialists" and "fascists"
  • Anyone whose background isn't Lakota, Seminole, Abenaki, etc. daring to speak about "illegal immigrants"
  • Hate