"Chickens Coming Home To Roost"

When brother Malcolm first voiced this sentiment  
the meaning was so misconstrued  
now more then fifty years later  
we can reexamine his true attitude  
 
He wasn't glorifying violence  
but rather suggesting silence when action was in demand  
when people simply expressing their rights  
where lynched across the land  
 
The media blew the words up into rejoicing a president's death  
missing the key message to be discerned  
thinking guilt was severely restricted  
and today we still have much to learn
 
For we glorify violence  
a component of entertainment in various forms  
violent conflict resolution  
so ingrained and now societal norms  
 
In sports when is attention harnessed?
the competition that gets out of hand  
if not on the playing field  
then occurring in the stands  
 
Video games most popular  
have children destroying fictional beasts  
or animated human characters  
blood splattered the display anything but neat  
 
The political experience crouched in combative phrases  
pitting one party against another in a game  
linguistic battles taken to the ninth degree  
how quickly can we tar and defame  
 
How about the selling of weapons for profits  
one campaign chair of the likely lady next to serve  
we would rather limit contraceptions at a school health clinic  
as if teenagers curious about sex creates a union of perves  
 
Ignoring the companies based in the US
who push armaments on a global scene  
sometimes to ruthless autocrats and dictators  
the epitome of inhuman and mean  
 
Selectively using the term terrorist  
ingoring many years of our own history's deeds
lacking courage to confront that strain within us  
we won't separate the lovely flowers from the strangling weeds
 
But the "arch of world events" will catch up  
even if our only crime was silence in the round  
maybe we will choose another direction  
before deep sorrow finds us feeling down  
 
For it isn't enough just to advocate for gun restrictions  
but one channel that we must pursue  
we must visit our collective reactions  
not scapegoat those whose numbers are actually few  
 
You see no one religion has a lock on saving humanity  
stories across the planet have violent hues  
despite what may be conventional thinking  
yes the truth is hard to sometimes chew  
 
We can't be a civilized nation  
telling other nations we are the purveyors of peace  
while stock holders are enriched via destruction  
if sincere there is behavior that must cease