Those Who Say

There are those who say that we should listen
As if their advice must be taken as ‘given’
We have our own thoughts, our own opinion
Why must others’ views still take dominion?

There are those who say we are too overweight
And serious ill health will be our fate
There are those who say we spend far too much
And too-ready credit has become our crutch

There those who warn us of climate change
And soon its control will be out of range
There are those who say the seas will rise
A move to higher ground is wise!

There are those who presage the robot revolution
Threatening every institution
There will be no chance that we might shirk
Due to the disappearance of all work

There are those whose concern is population
As it continues to rise among the nations
There are those who fear mass migration
As refugees seek some safe haven

There are those who say we are over educated
Unemployment making graduates frustrated
And many say they are burdened with a lot of debt
That they will never pay, seems a fair bet

There are those who say getting a roof over your head
Will be hard to achieve before you are dead
Compared to their parents’ rich generation
The millennials often sense their alienation

There are those who claim we are overwhelmed
By too much information, yet we feel compelled
To constantly monitor hand-held devices
Being ‘always on’ – one of our current vices

There are some who claim this is modern slavery
An entrapment which is most unsavoury
We are meant to live in a world that is free
Captive to our screens, we cannot flee

There a those who say politics is in disarray
For many Brexit seems to augur great dismay
And scandals have rocked our institutions
The virtuous loudly cry for retribution

There are even those who say that God is dead
No longer need for prayers beside our bed
The funeral was attended by so very few
Only a tiny remnant there to say adieu

I could go on with this doleful litany
Of pronouncements laden with calamity
But perhaps it is time to call a halt
After all most of this is not our fault

So when someone claims there are those who say
We do not need to be filled with dismay
‘Cause at best it is only their own view
Which we have the choice to espouse or eschew

After all, from whence comes the authority
Of this amorphous, dogmatic entity?
The monopoly of truth is no-one’s possession
All such assertions we should question

Ken Fisher

See also:What Does it Matter? https://thebardofkelvindale.com/2017/12/27/what-does-it-matter/