Either / Or (a Memorial Day Poem)

Either / Or (a Memorial Day Poem)

You can choose sides,
or you can choose compassion.
Choice changes the world.



I was watching the Democracy Now Memorial Day special. Veterans were turning in their medals and explaining why. One after another came up to speak and discard the medals they had been awarded. They were men and women who felt they had been deceived and used as thugs in a criminal gang. One veteran quoted two time medal of honor winner General Smedley Butler saying: 'War is a racket'.

As I watched I realized the vast majority of Americans have not chosen compassion. Only a few have compassion directed energies. Most 'love' one side to the exclusion of the other. Such 'love' is devoid of compassion and amounts to hatred.


What is compassion? Compassion is able to be perceived in the story of the good Samaritan who stopped to help a member of a race hated by his own culture. The Samaritan helped a stranger. He saved his life and paid his bill even though he did not know him. This is an example of compassion.




Human need is the basis of compassion. Choosing sides disallows compassion requiring that you take up a cause directly against other human beings. The last 10 years overwhelmingly display the fruit of taking sides.

If as many who had chosen sides had instead chosen compassion the record of the last 10 years would be significantly different because what is chosen has certain results.

One of my favorite 'good Karma' songs is 'Anthem'. I recall seeing this performance on the Smothers Brothers Show when it was broadcast in 1969. The song reintroduces the idea of making compassionate choices. In 1969 more people were choosing sides instead of compassion. The song is by the Hello People. Enjoy.






Poem 'Either / Or (a Memorial Day Poem) (C) 2012 by David H. Roche

a Clear Running Water state of mind.