Lyrics

To take what little control anyone has over their own journey through this world filled with uncertainty,

to protect one’s fate against the vagaries of man,

to discover one’s own raison d’etre

is Freedom.

---

But even with all the autonomy a human being can possibly have,

life can only get but so close to utopia.

There are sure to be some affairs that cause the perfectionists to think

that

if only

they could’ve whispered in God’s ear when he was building humanity,

then things would be a lot better.

---

Hm―

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And like some devious genie out of a bottle, the state issues a wager.

They’ll handle all those unpleasantries that run afoul of your sensibilities.

They’ll even use all your favorite buzzwords

 so you know

that they’re taking your interests

into account.

In return, you give them the materials

they need

for rearranging the order of things ―

Your rights!

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Now when the dust is settled,

there will be

a new order.

There will be new social processes

There will be new resource allocation.

And there will be new grievances.

There will be new state directed crusades to

regiment some ideal society.

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Then one day,

you’ll find that within all those sacrifices for promised wellbeing

was a license issued for your freedom

to be trapped

in an hourglass

with each passing grain of sand

slowly

eroding

it’s very existence.

Along with your freedom,

your ability to act will be so withered

that you’ll be unable to break through the constraint

of even the thinnest veil.

---

At that point,

slavery will be manifested

and all you’ll have left to control

is how much you hope.

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*Photo by Nathan Dumlao on Unsplash

**More of my spoken words can be found here