The Loss of Artistry

One of the reasons why America sucks is because of the loss of artistry.  Most know that I’m a huge finger pointer when I go to point out that this country is going down hill fast, but honestly, there needs to be something done.

In 90% of the jobs out there, it seems, there is no need for art of any kind.  Just manual labor.  Do this and get paid for it.  But those that get promoted, normally, are the ones that think outside the box, the ones that see a solution to a problem no one had even noticed.

The Divided States of America

I’ll be honest with you, I’m tired of being so depressed about being a citizen of the USA.  The things I see people do in this country, on a day to day basis...lets just say I completely out of tears of shame.

The HATE that is spread by people who think they are so much better is amazing.  And the sad part is, most who read this will think I’m talking about someone else.  No, I’m talking about the average citizen.

An Example of Media Non-Bias

Sometimes bias in the news and media is so apparent it’s a slap in the face.  I’m always saddened when no one else seems to notice.  I mean...wow sometimes....

The other day we were watching the news and there were two back to back items that made me shake my head.  Let me say this first.  The Railroad is something that has been falling behind in the USA.  A very large portion of the world utilize this amazing form of transportation and moving freight, because the sheer amount it can carry makes it extremely viable.

The Visible Effects of Hard Drugs on the Body

One of the ugliest parts of living in a small town is the ratio of people who use drugs.  What is really sad is how apparent it is.  Many drugs damage the body in many obvious ways.  Crystal Meth is one of the most obvious.

Lisa and I are close to the same age, yet there are people she graduated with that look well over double our age.  The scars, the sagging skin, the wrinkles, and the teeth are all huge indicators.  There are so many folks she’s introduced me to that look as old as Lisa’s mother (who has aged decently well) yet are either our age or younger.

(poem) - An Eighteen Hour Drive

If you have never driven
For eighteen hours straight
Then I suggest you never do
For it’s a horrible trait

It wears down your soul
Watching the road go past
Lines and stripes mark the time
Taking you away from where you were last



Energy drinks help
But only the body
For driving home like that
Makes you feel shoddy

You find yourself wishing
You could push the car a little more
Hoping there isn’t a cop
Waiting to knock on your door

You lay in bed
After the experience
Watching room drift towards you
Making you doubt your grasp on existence

It’s a test of endurance
A test of will power
Driving a car
Hour after unforgiving hour

But the thing is
You see some amazing things
Driving across America
Produces a gift that sings

Luckily I passed the test
Yet again
And we made it home
Safe within the bullpen

And now normalcy
Can creep back in
And I can enjoy the simple pleasure
Of relaxing deep within my den.

--Dan

--Want more Poetry?  Check out my Poetry Collection Page!

Technological Dark Ages

There’s nothing quite like living in small town, rural United States.  There are many things that feel backwards and out of date, but there’s one thing above all that makes me feel truly out of touch with society.

There is a telecommunications company here that has a monopoly of the rural areas here.  It’s a small place, and they overcharge for everything.   But what gets me is the cell phones.  Most of the civilized world now has cell phones, and the market for them is an unbelievable place.  New phones come out every week it seems, and the competition forces phones to just get better and better.

Bad Cop, Horrible Cop

To serve and protect.  Words synonymous with the police force.  But I’ve often wondered about police themselves.  They are normally so feared by the public and such an avenue of corruption.

Now I fully admit, I’ve met some good and great cops.  I’ve know some that I knew I could call on and trust.  But I’ve also known the opposite.  I’ve met good for nothing cops that cast a shadow of shame across law enforcement in general.

There was a great movie line, from one of my favorite movies of all time, if not my all time favorite, The Chase , that stated how the only people cops come in contact with, on a day to day basis, is the worst of society.  Pimps, pushers, liars....  Soon you start feeling everyone is that way.  And this I see the most of.  Sometimes a cop will automatically think the worst in someone, for whatever reason, and treat them like a criminal when that someone doesn’t deserve it.

Outside of here.

Expanding one’s horizons is such a nice thing to do.  Its amazing to see what’s out there, even if its just reading about it.  Today I learned about some things in another country that I never knew existed.  I was simply amazed and shocked at things.

But then, I’ve been looking around at other countries for awhile.  There’s so much out there in this world.  History that has been kept from me, especially as I’m from the US and we’re taught that we’re the best and there’s nothing else worth seeing out there.  It’s a sad fact of life, living here.

The United Hate-breeders of America

Ignorance is such an amazing thing.  It permeates life here in the United States.  I have to believe that it is elsewhere in the world, but the way it erodes society here, is just dauntingly unbelievable.  Ignorance here is a weight that crushes souls and grinds civility to dust.

You can take this whole Chik-fil-A thing for a good example.  Today I saw a bunch of Facebook posts of ‘good Christians’ cursing and using derogatory comments to defame and tell the gays of this world to die horrible deaths....  It honestly makes me ashamed to be a human when I see these things.  How can there be such hate in this world, and people using such terminology as using ‘free speech’ as an argument.  Freedom is freedom to do anything that’s not harmful....  Yet these people want to take freedom away from others....

To Celebrate the Fourth

The Fourth of July.  It’s hard not to get political about it, as I don’t see much to celebrate anymore.  The debate ranges so much, the United States are not on any top lists just because we’ve fallen so far, and noone here seems to care.

Care, that’s a good way to put it.  I know that I will never willing again buy a vehicle that was made in the United States after the mid-nineties.  I got to work in the auto industry for a bit, and what I saw reaffirmed my beliefs.  The American worker no longer cares for the product they produce because they don’t believe they are producing it for themselves, but for their bosses.