We have all heard the expression, “History Repeats Itself”. This seems to be as true today as it has ever been. When I think back over the many deaths that have occurred because we think we are right, it is really unbelievable. From the Crusades, to burning people at the stake, to drowning people accused of being witches, to the holocaust in Germany, to the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, to the massacre of Native Americans, to the bombings and beheadings still going on today, it is obvious to me that we have not learned a thing from history. We must work for a more peaceful way of living together. John Lennon, in his song Imagine, had that vision. We sill have to catch it.
The Atrocities of Being Right
Who decides what is right or wrong
This question is decided before we’re born
So who is really right and who is all wrong
Really depends on where you’re born
In India, in Iran, in China or Japan
Truth there is dealt a different hand
So sad the atrocities that have been done
Killing and maiming and burning the one
Who might disagree with our chosen one
How many buildings must we burn
Or suicide bombers take their turn
Life’s not important
We have no regard
As long as were right killing is not hard
All is done in the name of our God
Blessings on us and curses abroad
What atrocities we exact on the brotherhood of man
Torture, stoning, and fire, is our plan
With bombs and guns and deadly airplanes
All because we have the “truth”
We forget that in the heart of every man
Love crosses every span
Love can bridge the gulf of war,
Of bombs, of hate and so much more
Ironic that in every book
Loving your neighbor is what it took
Roth Poetry 