Of Phobias Two

 

 

 

Of the myriad phobias

There are two that are right here:

Islam and homosexuality

These two bring me much fear.

 

And they are on the increase

In numbers and in strength

And to accomplish all they desire

They will go to any length.

 

Only just the other day

I came across a brand-new fear

Islam-a-phobia was its name

And someone said it’s here.

 

 

So just imagine this:

These two fast growing fears

Islam-a-phobia and homophobia

And both of them are here.

 

The difference in these two

From the phobias that I know

Would be their very subtle deception

And the rate at which they grow.

 

They can sneak in the backdoor

In very undercover ways

And their appeal to tolerance

Do on our mind plays.

 

Nothing’s wrong with either

Is the unenlightened comment

Plus, the stigmatizing of all persons

That in any way resent.

 

 

I desperately try to understand

The agendas of these two

And they both seem set of coercing

All and sundry to their view.

 

 

I follow both across the world

In places where they are like towers

And their status in some countries

Has given them great power.

 

Yes, I hear you loud and clear,

“Why should they be a worry?”

And my answer to such a query

Comes out in many a story.

 

Stories in many places

Where both have stormed ahead

Leading to many disillusioned families

And many more that dread.

 

The dread of that initial lure

Like a fish that’s drawn to the bait

That struggles to escape its hook

But alas, it is too late.

 

And therein lies my fear

Call it a phobia, if you like,

The truth of the matter strikingly is

For many, it is a fright.

 

And the backing they have

Both financially and otherwise

Says they will be around for a while

Up front and in disguise.

 

 

Of phobias two

Only to the enlightened that fear

For there are many that don’t

And to me that is clear.

 

At first, they appear harmless

Until they get a “foot in the door”

But thereafter they take over

After one has taken the lure.

 

Many a daunting phobia

Is a fear and nothing more

But these two that I have mentioned

Have much more in store.

 

 

They both decimate the family

By weakening its building blocks:

One through its jihadists,

The other at nothing stops.

  

One takes a community’s adults

The other inhibits birth,

Islam and homosexuality

These two phobias in the earth.

 

Stewart Russell © September 23, 2021

 

Tolerance

 

 

A very misunderstood word

To most if not all

And the concept even worse

Is this term so called.

 

In these pluralistic times

Tolerance is on every lip

Yet the more we publicize it

The more it eludes or grip.

 

Its definition is very narrow

And particularly individualized,

It is defined by person or group

I have come to realize.

 

What tolerance means to one

Is totally different from another

And, as a matter of fact,

Therein lies the bother.

 

Its opposite is intolerance

But then again, you knew

Yet tolerance is only regarded

When it comes to your own view.

 

Tolerance is now synonymous

With self and selfishness,

My position must be tolerated

For my position is the best.

 

Tolerance is one way

It is not about to and fro,

Don’t even mention reciprocation

Tolerance is a one-way flow.

 

You accuse me of intolerance

Yet you do not tolerate me,

I may be guilty but so are you

I know you won’t agree.

 

 

Tolerance is not in agreement

But agreeing to disagree,

Doing so in an agreeable way

And not in hostility.

 

It is more about persons

Not necessarily about ideas,

So you can still be my friend

Though I don’t see it your way.

 

Tolerance is now a misnomer

The practice is now extinct

And some will even take your life

If you so much as blink.

 

If you call me intolerant

Perhaps, you are as well,

Since it takes on to know one

I am sure you can tell.

 

I am not going to celebrate

Your difference in opinion with me

But we can share mutual respect

And disagree agreeably.

 

If two agree in everything

One might be a fool,

Afraid to have a personal view

He is the other’s tool.

 

Tolerance in disagreement

Means a door is still open,

Once dialogue is possible

Tolerance is a token.

 

Stewart Russell © October 2019

 

Whose Jargon?

 

 

 

Once when you say a word

Something would come to mind

And it would be the same for everyone

Almost all of the time.

 

Communication was simpler then

Than it is today,

Our words are being corrupted

In so many different ways.

 

I remember when I was younger

Not very long ago,

Words were fairly straightforward

Now today, it’s not so.

 

If you said the word ‘come’

One meaning would be forthcoming

But into today’s economy,

That word now evokes grinning.

 

Enough said about that, though,

I am going to move along,

Concerning this poem’s content

I feel particularly strong.

 

It’s about a newfound jargon

Pertaining to a group,

I am totally flabbergasted

Re the level they have stooped.

 

I could truly understand

If the cause was really essential

But far from being such,

It’s not even a nonessential.

 

Some things are not essential

But you’d like to have them still,

They may be of cosmetic value

And give a wholesome thrill.

 

For men it might be a car stereo

With buttons, whistles and all,

For the women it might be curtains-

Household decor is their call.

 

I must emphasize wholesome

Don’t let us get mixed up:

Don’t be confused with the LGBTQ2

And their prescribed bitter cup.

 

 

Why can’t I use the word ‘gay’

Without being frowned upon?

It once used to mean delightfully happy

Now it’s a word I should shun.

 

It has come to mean derogation

Or, you could become entrapped,

Or something so abominable,

There is no way of getting back.

 

It is now controlled by a group

That’s taking the world by storm,

They are suggesting very forcefully

We can be different from how we were born.

 

It does not matter your DNA

And it does not matter your sex,

What matters is how “you feel inside”

Delight in it even if others get vex.

 

That brings me to another word

A word that we must give up,

And limp away with “tail between legs”

Like the proverbial ungratified pup.

 

 

Gender is the word I mean

Once clear to man woman and child,

Now it is no longer binary

But has become irreparably defiled.

 

“Give it up,” some may suggest,

“We can get along without it.”

But don’t you get the impression here of late

That giving up is becoming our habit?

 

Hence, a jargon all their own,

Stolen, not even on loan

And all we can do is moan,

While they pick clean every bone.

 

‘Homophobic’ if you dare disagree-

A word not heard before,

But it certainly belongs to this clan,

I’m not finished, there is more.

 

Of all the phobias that I know

This must be the most recent one,

And like all the other phobias,

I seriously wish it were gone.

 

‘Tolerance’: they have none

But they demand it nevertheless,

And ‘discrimination’ is only an offense

When you put them to the test.

 

Other words are being morphed

Family is certainly one of them,

And with family, will go our children,

That is another problem.

 

‘Apathy’ and ‘sympathy’ are on their side

Enough to skew any vote,

“Why can’t we leave them alone”

Is now the daily quote.

 

Tiny mites before, now with great might

They are winning every fight,

Each quarter we yield is also a right

Fast encroaches the night.

 

It’s time to stop for a reality check

And arrest this damning slide,

Then reclaim the words that we’ve lost

Before we are forced to hide.

 

Because…

 

Now, we have to tiptoe around

While they are calling all the shots,

And the words they choose

We must be prepared to lose,

We are now in the inferior spot.

 

Stewart Russell © October 2019