If That Next War Also Cannot Be Avoided

if the next war simply cannot be avoided

then, indeed it has been well marketed and sold

if the people will not accept a war

then it must have been wisely circumvented

if the allies do not support a war

then its packaging must be slicker for those in the homeland

if the enemy continues its hostile non-aggression

preemptive defensive strikes may just set things right

if the causes of a war do not really effect the peoples lives

doctored versions of the truth might just suffice

if the young rush like violent lemmings for a chance to kill and die

they are deemed valiant, patriotic and wise before their time

if the youth should question decisions that risk their very lives

they are but callow and foolish cowards, lacking in maturity

if the war is conducted from the air and enemies die in these video games

the people will not escape crude violence in their very homes

if the country is in a time of only sluggish growth

history shows that wars breathe new life into business and commerce

if the government faces vexing issues on the domestic front

ginning up external enemies might just freeze the opposition for a while

if a people swallow all their news spun into sound bites mouthed cleverly by spin doctors

they can be spared the horror of uncertainty and the even worse pain of thinking

if a war can be packaged slickly by smooth spokesmen in the homeland

those in charge can conduct a clean and corporate-like campaign

if a war comes to pass and security becomes an issue

the people can be lied to and spied upon in secret without a second thought

if the war machine demands it

resources from all places sacred and profane must be laid down before it

if the soldiers come home crippled and unable to adjust

they may be warehoused and hidden until they are forgotten

if we attack a place a third of our people cannot find upon a map

then have we, just perhaps, grown lazy, careless, stupid and quite foolish

if God directs us to spend staggering sums against some faceless enemy

it becomes easier to stand by while millions die quietly of neglected diseases

if a war requires well-planned military as well as marketing campaigns

certainly any given opponent can be demonized as a group of child-eating heathens

if those who kill from far above by pushing buttons are hailed as heroes

maybe we should ask - To what end our sanity has been forsaken?

if a suicidal enemy strikes without an army at quietly sleeping people

perhaps it's time to actually look for the source of this evil

if events on the ground do not follow the script we have set have set so boldly forth

we can continue with our own parts and the audience may not know, for a while

if the press should immorally dwell upon the killing, maiming and destruction

we can fabricate our own dispatches and pay to have them printed

if it is said that a war can be paid for with the resources of the conquered land

it is easy to ignore all the other enemies who possess nothing that we need

if we can make up a policy to hide the dead and obscure the grisly details

it will make it easier to call for sharp increases to already unimaginable defense funding

if we frame the debate as strong heroes against backsliding cowards

domestic opposition will be reduced to the stuttering of the marginalized

if we continuously label a universally deplored invasion as a great liberation

all of our propaganda will echo with freedom’s brave, true ring

if we consistently forge a non-existent link between our goals and terrorism

the polls will indicate their rising acceptance of our works of political fiction

if our campaign is ill-conceived, poorly-executed and bogs us down in civil war

to surrender would betray the honor of all of those we have foolishly sacrificed so far...