Western Political Ideologies

In Memoriam
Nineteen Ninety-Four

More specifically, the ideologies of men
From the United States of America and
The British Empire;
To propagate

A policy
A political position
A world view
These men influenced

A state of being
These men influenced
The social political and economic world
In 1933; Franklin D Roosevelt said this

The only thing we have to fear
Is itself
Fear
In 1940; Sir Winston Churchill said this

We will fight
On the beaches
Was it before or after that bomb was dropped?
That Harry S Truman lamented

That the buck stops
Where?
In 1957; Harold MacMillan said this
People have never had it so good

In 1961; John F Kennedy said this
Ask not what your country can do for you
Ask what you can do for your country
Was it before or after that bomb was dropped?

In 1963; Harold Wilson said this
The white heat
Of the technological revolution
Is upon us

In 1963; Martin Luther King said this
I had a dream
In 1981; Ronald Reagan said this
Get the government off the backs

Of the people
In 1987; Margaret Thatcher said this
There is no such thing as society
Was it before or after that bomb was dropped?

In 1993; John Major said this
It was time to go back to basics
In 1992; Tony Blair said this
Tough on crime

Tough on the causes of crime
In 2001; George W Bush declared a war on terror





In 2008; Barack Hussein Obama said this
Believe
Believe in change that we can believe in
Was it before or after that bomb was dropped?

During the declaration of independence
In 1796; Benjamin Franklin said this
We hold these truths to be self-evident
All men are created equal

There are certain unalienable rights
There will be life
Liberty and
The pursuit of happiness

In 1864; Abraham Lincoln said this
Do not swap horses in the middle of the stream
As the titanic began to sink
The captain commanded

Women and children first!
George; H Bush said this
Read my lips
No more new taxes

William; H Clinton said this
Its the economy stupid
William; H Clinton said this
I did not have sex with that woman

Then
William; H Clinton said this
Indeed I did have sex with that woman
After having sex with that woman

Jacob; G Zuma said this
I took a shower
But what of the Eastern Political Ideologies
And the philosophy of Africa?

On Freedom Day 27 April 1994;
Nelson R Mandela said this
Never, never, and never again
Shall it be that this beautiful land will again

Experience the oppression of one by another
The sun shall never set
On so glorious a human
Achievement let freedom reign god bless africa

Was it before or after that bomb was dropped?



Poet's note: This poem is written in memory of the people of Rwanda who were so brutally slaughtered while the Western (and Eastern world) celebrated South Africa's first democratic elections nineteen years ago. It is written in memory of Helen Suzman who watched in horror as a clerk knifed Hendrik F Vervoerd in parliament, and in memory of her brothers and sisters, mothers and fathers who were so brutally slaughtered during Adolf Hitler's reign of terror while the Vatican City watched. It is written in memory of Pope John Paul the second and in honour of First Secretary Mikail Gorbachev and Lech Walesa who were at the forefront of destroying Stalin's communism. It is written in memory of Mohandas K Ghandi who practised peace on earth. It is also written in memory of Robert Sobukwe and Chief Albert Luthuli who so honourably and bravely followed this great man's path. It is written in honour of Dawn Aung San Ku Kyi who keeps the flame burning.

It is written in memory and honour of our Lord Jesus Christ.