Up, stand the men

Up, stand the men

With big hair and

Bouffant eyebrows

They would prefer

A ten-gallon hat

It speaks for a generation

The old ways

Invested with a sense of pride

The West was won

With conviction

A patriotic fervour

Stemming common decency.

Self-reflection

Barely registered

Before expansionism.

There was little rationale

For pluralism

Power and might was right

There was no other side.

Construction is destruction

In the eyes of many

Who would be imperial.

The harsh judge

With a grudge

Against decency.

Recency suggests

Power brings glory

Make of it what you will.

No lessons are learned

At the knee

Victories are earned

Through blood loss.

We are the champions

My friends

Bow to the victor

Surrender or die.

Salute your saviour

We are not shepherds

But money makers

Movers and shakers

Not peacemakers.

We are a duplicity

Of snake oil salesmen

Charmers and fakirs

Blowing smoke up your arse

Pulling wool over your eyes

Making it all seem like magic.

Artificially intelligent

Manipulated and massaged

Linguistically challenged

To suit the times

The dove is a hawk

The hawk is a snake

The snake is a serpent

The serpent a dragon

We all eat each other.

When enough

Is not enough

And right is not wrong

Even though it might be.

Whatever you are thinking

You’re not

The boys

Are back in town

Paint it black

Before the lights go down.