all i can think of is terror

perhaps i am a fool
perhaps i see hope where there is none
certainly i am up later than i had meant to be
looking to a day of exhaustion and mild regret
in the back of my mind though
im running back over line after line
cowards, suicide, uprisings

memory of 9/11
as i drove across the country
the radio tuned to whatever local station i could find
there was no music on
only after they said
all flights were grounded
did i start looking for jet trails
back and forth from state to state
opinion shifted
as i headed west
away from the liberal coastline
the conversation turned
to people damning their neighbors
vowing never to set foot again
in the corner store where
they'd always picked up their smokes
vowing to check who was driving a cab

cowardly acts
please tell me
what is more cowardly
to take down a plane
knowing full well that you are about to die
regardless of what heaven you might think you are off to
those last seconds will be horrible
to strap on a ton of dynamite
and step onto a bus
or to push a button from miles away
or to drop a bomb from miles above

sucide missions
are no different
if you are encased in high tech metal
if you are wearing your work clothes over your guns
if you die
you die
your commander has sent you to your death
neither version lifts the guilt of that
neither version gets you home safer

alls fair in love and war
when mothers die
their children go hungry
when fathers die
their children go hungry
who are we to weigh the lives of others
against some sex based worth

whats brought this on?
in the midst of learning the finer points
of the first ammendment
for the purposes of communication
advertising and public relations
a hypothetical lands before me

if a show
set in a created reality
mimics the situation of the world
mirrors the policies of the current political power
suggests brutal practices, ineptitude, and wrong thinking
can it be stopped?

airing on cable
safe from the tighter strictures
of that oft uninvited guest
the broadcast channels
who arrive free into the homes of america
the mode of the foil has been embraced once again
for political commentary
the satire has made it back to the screen
to show in full relief the horrors of this 'democracy' we live in

oh
what show is this?
feel free to snicker
Battlestar Gallactica