Mass Suicide by Ignorance

I.
 
We treat symptoms
without discovering their source  
and address freedom
justice and liberty
as convenient truths
when it benefits us  
 
II.
 
A person gets arrested  
we blame mental health
the parents, political affiliation
color, race, gender
instead of asking:  
why are so many among us sick  
 
The root is ignored  
thus, continues to gorge  
on our ignorance  
or unwillingness to learn
( you choose )
 
III.
 
We have so many  
brands of band-aids
a quick fix covering the surface:
excommunication, detention  
prison, execution
mind-numbing medication
 
Fundamentalist fingers point  
to their chosen scapegoats
fueled by memes, texts
and out-of-context snippets  
 
IV
 
We've lost the ability to rise
above stagnant waters
We’re dumbed-down  
and sinking, destined to drown
in our own history  
 
We’re ignoring the story  
settling for cliff notes  
a convenient shortcut
to avoid the work  
 
We don’t think anymore  
but react
hoping it will all pass
 
We see growing anger
shedding like skin  
only to grow bigger
 
V
 
Baptism—
Jesus wasn't talking about a river
or baptismal bowl of water
to be reborn in Love
 
He was talking about the hard shell
we construct around our heart
born of alarming consumerism
and a greedy fear of loss  
 
The one that avoids the homeless
judges the single parent
who should work more  
the dying elderly  
whose life savings feed
pharmaceutical lords  
the addict
caught in hopelessness  
 
starving children
who ought not been born
yet were forced into the world
because life
is a blessing despite the curse
of poverty  
 
the Earth
stripped to her bones  
preparing for the inevitable
pole shift to save herself  
from us
 
VI
 
If we manage to crack it in time
that contaminated shell encasing us
and step into the heart of truth  
we’ll discover it was nothing
more than toxic corrosion
an illusion  
slowly poisoning us in the dark—
mass suicide by ignorance
~