What Is A Patriot?

to place one nation above all others
is false patriotism

are patriots warriors with swords and medals?
what exactly does it mean to be patriotic?

america is brimming with injustices
longing to be made right.

democracy
is a tool that benefits all who use it.

american democracy,
is rusting in some hidden forgotten corner.

america is seething, burning with centuries of history.
the american system of government is not democracy

it is a system designed and built to offer equality
to dueling factions of rich, white men,

a system that was not intended
to benefit all of the beings it impacts.

like software updates, waves of struggle,
attempt to expand the framework.

suffragists knock down doors of males-only clubs.
peoples of color campaign for racial equality.

poor and property-less classes struggle
to end exploitation by the rich.

a never-ending effort, tidal in nature,
flowing forward as people advance

ebbing backwards
as elites implement gerrymandering,

Jim Crow, red-lining,
disenfranchisement of voters.

racism, along with sexism, colonialism and imperialism
run rampant throughout history of american government.

american government is backwards, regressive.
a system created by the few, to benefit the few,

at the expense of everyone else.

software updates are no longer effective.
a renewed operating system is long overdue.

healthy democracy is not
dry documents arranged on fancy parchment

not handouts to the wealthy,
tax exemptions, bailouts, subsidies.

healthy democracy
is not corporations or powerful interests.

healthy democracy is not covert agreements,
not corruption or party loyalty,

not wheeling and dealing,
or platitudes and empty promises.

democracy is not a commodity
to be bought and sold.

america is yearning to be healed.
healthy democracy is loving, brave, persistent.

politics is where lifeblood of democracy
dies a slow, agonizing death.

healthy democracy crackles with energy,
it pulses with vitality.

it is alternating currents
of organization and participation,

it is whispers from millions of lips,
discussed in many dialects,

healthy democracy crosses streets
from one neighborhood to the next.

democracy is stale coffee, dry donuts
and passionate bodies seated on folding chairs.

in a sweaty, knockdown, drag out,
impassioned process.

it is the exasperation, realizations,
illuminations of human beings

making decisions together.
people engaged in solving problems.

people-powered democracy is a threat
to the resentful, the possessive, the territorial.

it is dangerous
to greed, destruction, indifference.

the forgotten tool, democracy
surges when vision outshines despair,

the forgotten tool, democracy,
appears when hope burns more brightly than fear.

democracy is inclusive, listening and hearing
from people who are affected by it

democracy is sustained effort resulting in
meaningful change, not a circus act of elections

democracy is a people-powered living organism
alive in hills, valleys, towns and at kitchen tables

democracy is not
voting for other people to rule our lives.

in people-powered democracy we select leaders
to insure our rights, protect our freedoms.

we have a duty to choose leaders
with charisma, intelligence and compassion.

electing smart leaders
who stride briskly into action,

brave leaders
who will spit in the eye of evil

leaders who inspire and encourage.
who respect justice, courage and kindness.

we have a duty to hearten strong leaders
who work tirelessly with the people for the greater good.

we have a duty to support leaders who understand
that commitment and discipline are not optional.

democracy is not a spectator sport
passively observed on flat screens

democracy is powered by people who take action.
people who actively engage in discourse
in schools, chapels, city halls and coffee shops.

democracy is not abdicating authority to the powerful.
democracy is power that  illuminates solutions.

power that runs in veins of ordinary people,
power that puts food  on doorsteps of the hungry

power that speaks gently to the lonely and afraid.
power that enriches lives of the impoverished

power that heals the body,
soothes the soul, enlightens the spirit.

we have a duty to choose our  leaders wisely,
then, to work shoulder-to-shoulder with them,

a duty to improve, to work in flocks and swarms,
solving problems together

living democracy is an ecosystem mentality,
cooperation, collaboration.

democracy is people with courage taking action
that gives rise to great change.

america is teeming with new ideas,
new futures waiting to be born.

democracy, forgotten power tool,
rusting in some hidden corner

needs to be taken out of the shed, cleaned up, oiled
it’s edges sharpened, then used

we need to use that sharpened, shining democracy
to address concerns of our time.

patriots are not warriors with swords and shields.
what exactly does it mean to be patriotic?

to be patriotic is to participate in leaderful solutions.

a common definition of patriot
is one who loves their country.

a country is its people,
therefore, a patriot is someone who loves people.

by extension, patriotism symbolizes loyalty and devotion
not to one country or one government,

but loyalty and devotion
to all beings as brothers and sisters.

© 2024 Raibeart Bruis