Word to the Wise

By Todd A. Smith

What is the cost of war?

Innocent lives lost

With no clear winner

Does anyone really win

By using violence and hatred

To solve one’s problems?

War should be out of necessity

Not something to be used on a whim

By someone who leads from a bully pulpit.

When warranted

War should bind a nation together

With patriotism and unity,

Not divide and conquer

Like old adversaries.

War should never rest on assumptions

Or some old vendetta you want

To settle from decades past

We call other nations

Thugs and terrorists

But who are the real terrorists

When innocent lives are lost

For no apparent reason

We justify our actions by

Feeding the enemies’ starving children

But do absolutely nothing

To feed the starving children in this nation’s ghettoes

Instead of arrogance

We should learn humility

Instead of violence and anger

We should teach love and redemption

Instead of a future full of uncertainties

We should learn from our mistakes

Before we self-destruct

From our own ignorance and hatred.