Demagoguery rhymes with Devilry afoot
"In shadows deep where whispers creep, A fire-fed demagogue's deceit. Promises bright but hollow core, Whips up the masses, shuns the poor."
"Intellectual freedom is essential -- freedom to obtain and distribute information, freedom for open-minded and unfearing debate and freedom from pressure by officialdom and prejudices. Such freedom of thought is the only guarantee against an infection of people by mass myths, which, in the hands of treacherous hypocrites and demagogues, can be transformed into bloody dictatorship." ~ Andrei Sakharov, Soviet Physicist , and Nobel Prize Laureate
"When the goal of political action is no longer the defense of liberty, no word other than demagoguery can describe the despicable nature of politics." ~ Ron Paul, Prominent US politician and Libertarian
Demagoguery rhymes with Devilry afoot :
In shadows deep where whispers creep, A fire-fed demagogue's deceit. Promises bright but hollow core, Whips up the masses, shuns the poor.
With silver tongue and serpent's charm, He sounds the call to rise, alarm. In every word, a twisted truth, Devilry in demagoguery’s youth.
Blind followers in fervor cling, To every falsehood that he sings. With fervent hearts, their minds forgot, The good, the just, in darkness sought.
Deception's dance on wicked tides, Where reason fades and chaos hides. Afoot the devil’s scheme unveils, As virtue drowns and honor pales.
A world misled by lust for power, Falls victim to the tyrant's hour. Yet in the dusk, hope's ember gleams, A call to wake from demagogue dreams.
Rise up, stand firm, and pierce the night, With truth's pure sword, rekindle light. For demagoguery may take its toll, But justice reigns within the soul.
{The above poem was written by Microsoft Copilot AI at the request of the author}
We are seeing demagoguery as the grand finale of societal collapse.
Being a war baby I was well positioned to follow everything there after as a spectator. For me the the Korean war was fought on a old tube radio. It existed in some far off place that as far as I knew could have been on Mars.
Growing up and growing older is consciousness raising, putting life and its many events and activities in fuller contexts where they become part of our personal hierarchies determined by our personal dispositions, our cultures, our talents and our education and interests.
We can live in enlightened cultures fostering growth, depth and the richness for our personal hierarchies; but we can also by the chance of birth be castaways in a culture of despotism and tyranny. We can also bear witness to how cultures of great potential can crush rich inheritances by the “wolf in man” and selling our souls to the devil.
As I have grown older the context that started with great promise and idealism has become a degeneration into more and more wars of greater intensity and magnitude, along with the societal degeneration inflicted by the interventionist perpetrator as it targets its designated victims according to the expediencies of a rotted empire.
As societies degenerate they become more and more authoritarian. Starting out as open liberal societies, with tenuous commitments to democracy. Ruinous ideologies are recklessly adopted with no regard for their total effects as they interact with pre-existing ideologies and social norms and sacred values like freedom of speech and human rights
Our societies of the West have been recklessly smothered under a multitude of ideologies, ranging from Imperialism, neocolonialism, predatory capitalism, militarism, war, neoliberalism, and more, up to and including the commodification of populations to pay the empire’s bills and the extravagant appetites of the 1%. All at the sacrifice of fundamental ideologies, socialism, liberalism, conservatism and democracy.
"American fascism will not be really dangerous until there is a purposeful coalition among the cartelists, the deliberate poisoners of public information, and those who stand for the K.K.K. type of demagoguery." ~ Henry A. Wallace, 33rd Vice President of the United States from 1941 to 1945
When conflicting ideologies are present interacting and undermining established social pillars, values and norms, and democracy itself. This constitutes a tyranny that is ongoing as a subversive narrative of lies and deceptions.
As the voices of the demagogues become more chaotic and belligerent their legitimacy is destroyed. Where they have destroyed the social contracts it comes back to the peoples to insist on their restoration. Where the demagogues insist on war and genocide populations must insist on peace and civility and progressive dynamic cultures.
When all else fails we can turn to Al to tell us what has to be done.
“Rise up, stand firm, and pierce the night, With truth's pure sword, rekindle light. For demagoguery may take its toll, But justice reigns within the soul.”
What do you think?
"Democracy" ...a lie we have been fed for too long a time.