The Fall of ‘25 has arrived.

Student unrest is fomenting,

Across institutes of higher learning,

Just as it was three score years earlier,

When the Answer was Blowing in the Wind🎶

The Democratic norm has been broken.

A Supreme Court adjudicates to coronate,

Lies and misinformation permeate, 

Conspiracy theories propagate,

Hate groups congregate,

Retributions vindicate,

Authoritarians subjugate.  

The air reeks with fiery smoke,

A Whirlpool of Destruction escalating

Onward, without abatement.

Teeming anger swaths through the Land,

With great weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Emotion rules.

Rational, reasoned 

Thought withers.

Justice wanes,

As a Rule of Law refrain,

Begins to stir with the wind and rain.

An icy question blows in hard with a

Gale force that lingers over 200 years:

“A Republic or Monarchy?”

A chilling, cautionary,

‘Dr. Ben wind’ whispers in reply:

“A republic . . . if you can keep it.”

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Notice to All: Let this poem published herewith be a cautionary tale, that the fall of democracy is a matter not to be taken lightly.  The replacement of democracy by authoritarianism in the world of today will not occur through sudden brute force (coup d’état), but through a slow and deliberate escalation of lies, deception, and the mangling of language. 

“War is peace.
Freedom is slavery.
Ignorance is strength.” 
George Orwell - Colorized/Enhanced by D. W. OrrOriginal image taken between about 1930-1935, at age 27-32. At 50, everyone has the face he deserves, - George Orwell.
~ George Orwell, “1984”

Stay vigilant my friends.

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D W Orr
Environmentalist, Weimaraner/Dachshund Companion, Photographer, and Poet-Provocateur
Harford County, Maryland,
Here, where it all began, 255 years ago, in the USA

November 6, 2024

“A Republic … If You Can Keep It”
“A republic … if you can keep it.”, by D. W. Orr Photography & Poetry