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It is truly a shame
That we live in such fear
Of our neighbors
That we have descended
To a level of fear
That causes us to
Search their names
And their families
And their lives
That threaten us so much
We Google
And Yahoo
And Ask Jeeves
To tell us who they are
Until we no longer form
Our own ideas
By our observations
And conversations
And salutations
But rely on
Electronics
And technology
As our methodology
To decide
Who they are
Our neighbors
And it is truly a shame
That we live in such fear
Of our neighbors
That we have descended
To a level of fear
That causes us to
Litter the landscape with signs
And to scatter nails
And to burn mailboxes
And to spread vicious stories
We stereotype
And name call
And mock
And say they are
Different than us
We criticize
And demonize
And generalize
Without really knowing
Who they are
Our neighbors
And it is truly a shame
That we live in such fear
Of our neighbors
That we have descended
To a level of fear
That causes us to never know
Or sadder still,
To even care to know
That they love
Football,
Or racing
The Yankees,
The Mets
That they are
A Grandparent,
A veteran, a teacher
A trucker, a farmer,
A musician, a writer
Or maybe a businessman
That they like jazz or rap
Or country or swing
Or maybe music
Just isn't their thing
That they garden
Or paint
Or hunt
Or sing
Do we care?
That they have interests
And lives
And qualities
And gifts?
No,
For fear overwhelms
We choose not to know
Who they are
Our neighbors
And it is truly a shame
That we live in such fear
Of our neighbors
That we have descended
To a level of fear
That causes us to have
Prejudice
"Not me" you say
But yes,
For today it knows
A new name
Not one of race or color
Or sexuality or gender
But one of politics
Of tenure
Of arbitrary determinations
By Us
About Them
Categorizing
Who they are
Our neighbors
And it is truly a shame
That we live in such fear
Of our neighbors
That we have descended
To a level of fear
That we set
Bad examples
For our children
We shout angrily
And point fingers
Accusingly, insanely,
Irrationally
In front of
The next generation
Who we should be
Nurturing, and teaching,
Embracing with love,
Respecting
Who they are
Our neighbors
And it is truly a shame
That we live in such fear
Of our neighbors
That we have descended
To a level of fear
That causes us to
Attach labels and names
Grouping together
Cityperson, Hick,
Old-timer, Outsider
Us, Them, Troublemaker
Republican, Democrat
Said with such hate
All thrown about
Generically, Carelessly
Callously, Maliciously,
Filled with rage
With no feeling or regard
Forgetting they are
A person first
Before anything else
Who they are
Our neighbors
Michael Baden
Feb. 2, 2007
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