This is a poem written by Oliver Hovenden. I heard him read it recently. It’s terrific. Wilfred Owen and Siegfried Sassoon would have approved: they got angry. He agreed to let me put it on my blog.
Get Angry – Oliver Hovenden
When old men scoff at your equality views
And politicians denounce a woman’s right to choose
When the fat cats gain and the thin cats lose-
Get angry.
When making money means more to them
Than saving the planet from the folly of men.
And we’ll axe a tax on carbon pricing
And ignore the fact sea levels are rising.
Get angry
When blue ties and red tape mean doctors can’t report child rape.
Child slaves in sweat shops and sexism in hip hop.
When women don’t get paid the same for playing what is an identical game
Get angry.
Our government lives in a world of hypocrisy
When they support invasions in the name of democracy.
But won’t support those that flee from the fire
And no one cares if the situation’s dire.
Because Stop the Boats- and we’ll get votes.
Get angry.
When the larger the company, the smaller the tax form,
And interest in politics is a novelty not a norm.
When left and right wing is no more than a position
On a football field, and we have a coalition,
That doesn’t think you deserve same rights if you’re gay
And argues that things should always stay the same way.
When a backwards step is a unanimous motion
And they base their beliefs on a preconceived notion
That the Australian people don’t want to see change,
The name ‘The Liberals’ seems a little bit strange.
Because liberalism’s all about acceptance and respect,
And with our ‘Liberal’ government that’s not what you get,
Because male still matters, and so does straight,
And the colour of your skin still determines your fate.
Get angry.
Don’t sit around and be keyboard warriors
If you feel for your opinion you need to be sorry is
There are problem with it, or a problem with them?
Don’t wait to act, don’t wait to condemn.
Because if he who is silent, consents
don’t be afraid to give your 10 cents.
It’s our future, it should be our word,
It’s time to get angry and make ourselves heard.
Excellent. I particularly enjoyed the rhythm of the poem which covered so many truths.
A fitting commentary on two years of the Abbottocracy
I am sick to my stomach about our leadership and where the fools are taking Australia. We need a leader, a hero, someone who can make the right decisions and convince the doubters that compassion, fairness and integrity is worth the fight. I need that to have hope.
Thank you- you say it so well and you are absolutely right. Time to get angry- and I am.
Bombing Syria? Keeping children imprisoned? Silencing health workers? And so much more.
Disgraceful, shocking actions by the Australian government. Time to get angry.
when predators get to pretend to be otherwise, get angry.