The Empire State
On June 15th (Magna Carta Day) National Liberal supporters hung Liberty cards on designated ‘Liberty Trees’ throughout the UK proclaiming our support for civil rights. The recent revelations that Western Governments are snooping on their citizens communications and sharing the information amongst themselves, will not be a surprise to our supporters but might to most others. Our resident poet Jason, has composed a poem to reflect upon this move to a (secretive) surveillance society.
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You will be, I hope, aware of a young man on the run from the ‘Empire state’ (the US) and now held up in Moscow airport.
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The whole episode raises the question of how free are we?
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How much or how little liberty are we allowed by the state we live in?
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Liberty, freedom, right to free speech, right to free movement etc is often exalted and we get preached on by the so-called democratic block of states (the West we call in short). Yet these are empty sound bites, while we all are watched intensely.
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Are we really free I ask myself? My computer is tapped or tappable if the state so desires.
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So the Empire State poem addresses this very issue, from a poet’s perspective.
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I know I am being watched! Beware you too! Free Man & Woman? Mere Empty Rhetoric!
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The Empire State
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The vastness of sky,
Misconstrued I, as home of freedom,
The wings of winds, clouds travel by
Once I thought liberty’s home
All proven wrong,
With a young man’s standing
Against the Goliath state’s espionage ring!
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The uncontained waves of oceans,
Doves flights of peaceful missions
All stood once as the pride of humans’
Aspiration to be free; yet recent missions
And omissions of empire state and allies affirm
That freedom entwined in empty dreams –
And a state’s spying ring, the body supreme
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Exaltation and oratory of liberty,
Adulation and adoration over freedom –
Deeply webbed in jiggery-pokery, a deception in honesty;
The state spy through webs, wires and modem;
Stoop low it, for steeply vague security
Concepts of state while triggering a wild chase
Of a young man, denying his right to real liberty.
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Freedom torch held high into sky
Vouch for nothing; indeed it’s a mere stone, empty
Of real virtues; it signals, sky filled with satellites
To spy on citizens and allies.
The fast internet super high ways
All snooping weapons of finer fibres,
By which state security apparatus
Imprison the entire world – no matter what’s one status.
All prisoners of the Empire State!
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Jason
Date: July 13, 2013
Categories: Articles, Party News