I've been with the Communists as they sketched out the ways
To place the world in the workers' hands. They plotted from
A shabby little rental house in Council Bluffs. I've heard
The righteous exhortations of the leftist Democrats, who say
That if their party'd only purge the centrists from its ranks,
Its purity would win the votes it needs to rise again. I'm
Finished with such kiddie rides. The men and women on
The streets are ceaselessly conservative. They're scared
Of change and gravitate toward rulers who look like their
Bosses: pale-skinned men in business suits. They want
Protection from the vicious criminals they've never seen,
And know that blacks and Spanish speakers perpetrate
Those unseen crimes, and, if the ones who promise
Them protection turn out to be fascists, those who notice
Will consider that to be okay. The saving grace of this
Great mass of mindless, stasis-craving slugs is that they
Don't do anything. They go to work and come back home.
They watch TV and sleep, which means that, should somebody
Say, "Enough's enough," and take up arms, attacking every
Element of our oppressive status quo, the slugs won't act,
While those who do will have moved past the kiddie rides.
If that ever happens, I will tell them "Count me in."