STALEMATE
Jeannine Horn
We are quick to judge others
By how they act and look and what they say,
If they don’t meet our expectations,
Then we’ll ignore them, hoping they’ll go away.
But there could be something worth knowing
If we took then the time to talk to them
To find out what is on their minds,
To discover their goals, their dreams,
Or are they in distress, falling apart at the seams?
We are often so focused on our schemes
It’s all about us and what we want to do with our life,
It’s not about helping people reach their dreams
And being available for others in their time of strife.
Our eyes are glued to our cell phones
Reading all those texts,
Or we’re plugged to our headphones, surrounded by music.
We are totally unaware of life-changing events
Happening from one day to the next.
We are too busy playing video games
And buying the latest electronic gadget
That we believe will make our lives easier.
Retailers urge us to keep on buying,
It has become an everyday habit.
The prices are right,
Easier than ever to spend from the comfort of home
But can we keep our economy afloat
*Horn
-1-
12/30/12
By buying more of what we don’t need
When the national debt is nowhere out of sight?
It’s hard for us to be concerned about others
When our government is hanging on the fiscal cliff,
The situation is dire, we’re desperate,
But our legislators don’t care about us,
They’d rather bicker and fuss,
Leaving us vulnerable by paying higher taxes,
When most families are already struggling to pay their bills.
Eliminating unemployment insurance for many,
When it comes to compassion,
These elected officials don’t have any.
If they did, they would do the job
They swore they would do,
They are supposed to represent our best interests,
And make decisions that will favor the majority,
But their promises to us aren’t coming true.
Republicans are bitter and angry,
Because Romney didn’t win the election,
They are retaliating, using their rejection
Tactics on the President, Democrats, and on Americans.
When will they admit the majority vote was for Obama?
Our legislators’ tactic is to stall,
It’s down to the wire, up to Reid, McConnell, and Biden,
Majority and minority leaders in the Senate and now the Vice President,
Who are trying to strike a deal.
Will anything but angry words happen at all?
Americans are looking closely at our legislators,
Wondering how our situation got this bad,
Why both parties can’t negotiate their differences,
Why they can’t pass legislation to avoid the stalemate,
This political drama is really sad!
Americans’ morale is low,
But our national debt is high,
It’s time to strike a deal, come up with a solution
Or we can expect tax hikes for everyone on New Years Day,
Senators Reid and McConnell and VP Biden, there must be a way.
*Horn
-2-
12/30/12
Stop the squabbling and fingerpointing,
Remember your role,
You took an oath to serve your constituents,
Gentlemen, Americans are counting on you
To get us out of this financial hole!
I
*Horn
-3-
12/30/12