What I Would Ask
Violence, even well intentioned, always rebounds upon oneself.
 — Lao Tzu
I hear radio talk show hosts
like Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity
and I listen to our religious President
I hear these radio talk show hosts
praise the life of an unborn child
or try to save Teri Schiavo on life support
I know some even run charities
or help natural disaster victims
kind people, these Republicans
then I hear that Texas
our President’s state
has put ten times more prisoners to death
than any other state since the seventies
I then even hear Republicans protest
the Supreme Court’s decision
that minors shouldn’t get a death penalty
when I heard about their love of life
then heard about their hatred of life
I wondered if I was the only one
who saw their moral confusion
so when I hear these radio talk show hosts
get on their high horses over the radio waves
downplaying anyone’s arguments
and galloping away on their steed
I’d like to call in
to ask them the question:
“Excuse me, I see that you Republicans
seem to revere life so much,
from the unborn
to those on life support
who need our help
so I have to ask:
how can you support the death penalty?
why do you revere some life
then decide to exterminate
someone who committed a crime?
I’ve heard you talk about the evils of abortion,
but why,
when its wrong to kill a fetus,
a life yet to breathe on its own,
why it is okay to kill people
who have been breathing for years?”
but hey, mister President
when our country’s now so far in debt
because of your “war”
maybe we could start to save money
by not killing prisoners?
I mean, the death penalty doesn’t deter,
and it costs more taxpayer money
when every man on death row
gets appeal after appeal
while every taxpayer
pays the court costs,
the judge costs
and the government-appointed lawyer costs
Hell, with the death penalty we still pay
for their food and keep in prison for years
so if we spend more money killing people
than keeping them in prison for life
why don’t we learn to be moral
and cut financial corners
to help out the economy?
but I’m sure those talk show hosts
would cut me off
discussing the heinousness of prisoners’ crimes,
but I’ll try to ask them
who made them the judge
I’ve heard death penalty supporters claim
that the bible supports the death penalty
though they don’t say where
I suppose that in the Old Testament
God killed entire towns, flooded the earth
but according to their religion
God is the judge
not them
I’ve heard these supporters say they’re religious,
Christian, like their wonderful President,
and then they say they support “an eye for an eye”
which is when I wonder why
they’re referencing the Old Testament
not that there’s anything wrong with the Old Testament
but they’re referencing the Old Testament
not their Christian New Testament
they’re not listening to Jesus’ words
when he told them to
ignore what his father said
but do as he does
and love one another
Jesus said to turn the other cheek
killing someone is hardly
“turning the other cheek”
I mean, where is their Christian forgiveness
when they sentence people to death?
and wait a minute,
do these Christian people believe
Jesus would support their death sentences?
it makes me think of terrorists
who support killing people
who don’t believe in their God, in their way
we find terrorist behavior abhorrent
and we sit here behind our mighty Constitution
deciding who lives and who dies
but our Christian President likes playing God
the Presidency mustn’t be enough for him
I guess President Bush is now running this casino
and he just keeps saying to himself,
because he has to be right,
that the House always wins
Copyright Janet Kuypers.
All rights reserved. No material
may be reprinted without express permission.
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