At the risk of sounding unpatriotic

[MayReasonRule]

23. I've Been Grieving Our Nation For Decades. I Write Songs And Poetry To Help Cope

Flag of My Heart

Flag of my heart, you always will be
I pledge allegiance to you and to me
Each 'true' 'blood believer', 'American way'
Each oath to be taken, all laws to obey...

Burdened believers, afflicted with 'sin'
Dying for 'saviors' in 'wars meant to win'
A seasoned believer, will 'show you the way'
I'm sure you'll feel better...

Once you trust in...
The undying love of the hardcore believers
The unshakeable faith of the fools and the dreamers...

Stark raving sober, the man said to me
"I hate my life daily, I'd be grateful to be..."
"In the presence of someone, that might understand..."
"The 'son' of the 'god' of the suffering man...

Give up your suicidal 'sainthood'
Don't multiply pain
All you 'sanctified sinners'
'Hymned' in by shame

If your 'father's forgiveness' needs blood for the plan
Wash in the 'son of your god's'
Not the suffering man's

Cause there's no easy way when you're a hardcore believer
And you trust in the schemes of the fools and the dreamers
When jubilant elation meets ultimate sorrow
Catastrophe's joy can take decades to swallow

One sip at a time is all most can stand
It helps with some lime, and salt on your hand
A lick and a swallow, and maybe tomorrow
Each can learn to be free

Free of this, undying love of the hardcore believers...
The unshakeable faith of the fools and the dreamers...

~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~

A large swath of humanity rejects logic in it's entirety, instead embracing unfounded supposition as factual reality.

Freedom is reason’s child: without the ability to tell fact from fantasy, argument from propaganda, and consent from manipulation, “freedom” is just a noise, a word for nothing left to lose.

When that rational capacity is dulled, delusion rules, congealing into censorship, coerced unanimity, ritualized slogans, and curated realities that make dissent literally unthinkable while constitutions and rights-talk remain as hollow script.

Oppression is delusion’s child, built on lies about who is fully human, what threats justify emergency powers, and which manufactured crises demand permanent exception.

Strip away the shared hallucinations and the cruelties stand naked and absurd.

Which is what we see and feel today.

For I and mine, reason is our god, doubt is our savior, and the fight for liberty begins with defending minds that can still tell the difference.

Defending reason defends it's child, freedom, because it keeps open the very space in which non-deluded choice is still possible.

Each of us are progenitors of that very thing: the defense of freedom.

I really appreciate your posts and your thoughts.

Thank you for your ongoing honesty about your own personal struggle, it's something we each have in common.