Social Security 'Eccentric' is a word some people use To criticise - and sometimes to abuse People who have values of their own Who are prepared to walk (or swim) alone. But I suggest us non-eccentric folk Are blinkered oxen in an unseen yoke, Trudging down the only path we know:- The rut where all the other oxen go. ---------- This rut is deep, and few have dared to climb The rugged sides for fear of what they'd find. Yet those who have climbed up do not return: They call us up, for they can now discern That all our values, all that we've been told, All our beliefs, the ethics that we hold Are not our own, but someone else's view, Because we always do what others do. --------- Thus every moment in our narrow lives Constricts our view still further, and contrives To train us that the only way to be Is running with a safe majority; Where no-one scorns, or ridicules our ways Far from the spotlight's penetrating gaze, But WAIT! A danger lurks that few discern. A painful truth, that everyone must learn:- --------- Did poor Keith Blakelock's killers recognise The reason they ignored his dying cries? And why did settlers go on shooting sprees To help 'control' the Aborigines? Could not those German soldiers just refuse To help their Nazi colleagues murder Jews? Marines who shot small girls in Vietnam Appeared to show no guilt, nor give a damn. --------- "The others do it too - don't pick on me" Men say - a sad but very common plea. We look at them and see how they're to blame, But look at us! Are we not all the same? We reach for probity, but we are torn:- We live in fear of ridicule or scorn. We have a selfish parasite inside (That feeds upon the Fear of Man) called Pride. -------- The more we feed this thing the more it needs Infecting other people as it breeds, And thus through life we're constantly cajoled To wave the flag our peers would have us hold. "Just stay with us, you'll be alright" they say. But NO! Conformity is not ok! For should we gag the dissonant we'd find That no one else will stop us going blind. -------- For should we all drift lazily downstream (A tempting thought; a sweet, idyllic dream) Not one of us, however skilled or gifted Would know for sure how far we all had drifted. Yet imperceptibly this river's motion Takes every drifter out into the ocean. -Unless they can be shown they need to row Their boats against this unseen undertow. -------- Only then will we begin to feel That paradigms are lethal, strong and real Only as we fail to hold position Are we alerted to our grave condition. Yet those who drift can't see the need to row: they cannot feel the deadly tidal flow. What fool would struggle lest he saw a cause? Or eagle flap his wings who skyward soars? -------- So I believe (Would Einstein disagree?) It all comes down to Relativity: The further down the Stream of Life we drift The more our values tend to slip and shift For when the stream was small the bank was near; The rushing flow was obvious and clear, But as the river widens as it goes How imperceptibly the current flows! -------- The sunny sounds of birds and distant sheep Gently fade to soporific sleep. The distant banks get dim and hard to see Especially down towards the estuary; And once at sea, with dry land out of sight, The sleeping drifter's in a dreadful plight: For should he wake he cannot check the flow, Nor head for land - he knows not where to row. -------- Dear friend if you've been shown - and faintly see Some solid ground - perhaps a cross or tree, You'll need to swim - with all your heart and soul Until you reach the safety of your goal. Your friends will mock, you'll have to swim alone, You'll feel more pressure than you've ever known. But persevere with all your strength and might To keep your landmark firmly in your sight. -------- For only when you reach that welcome shore Will you find Truth - unshakeable and sure; And then you'll turn and will begin to see The needs of those still floating out to sea: You'll grieve to see them drifting to their deaths, And mourn as dear friends breathe their final breaths. And like the one who warned you of your plight You'll warn them not to drift another night. -------- You'll shout a warning they won't like to hear, For change and dissonance are things men fear. They'll drown the voice of reason - if they can With every palliation known to Man, And one they have been using all along Is "All the others cannot all be wrong" "We like our friends, the sun and sea" they cry. They try to drink it in, and thus they die...