The whirled is full of dollereds
Strewing up our future
With dead precedents
And we no where
Greed takes us
This short poem addresses the persistence of greed, even though its poor outcomes are well documented and embedded in human experience. The temptation to game the system and cheat reality by stirring up greed can only be explained by bad thinking or a shortage of moral fiber. Of course, greed begets greed. How could it be otherwise? The moral compass we follow — or don’t follow — sets in motion a cascade of like results. Greed and selfishness produces a shaky foundation and towering houses of cards and sharp objects as a testament to the denial of the gravity of the situation. Life presents inescapable moral choices. We may not like the choices available, but reality has a profound persistence and deep order. It strikes me that a fundamental orientation or choice in life is whether to game the existing set of circumstances to one’s own marginal advantage and the whole’s marginal disadvantage, OR to commit one’s self to understanding and accepting the facts of human existence and devoting your existential force to participating in the good of the whole. Saying “NO” to greed is a good start and landmark for the journey. We know where greed takes us — to an unending chain of dead precedents; a world replete with moral dullards. Disciplined compassion, joyful curiosity, and ebullient hope take us places better than we can even imagine, where we can be joyous and free in harmony with humanity and the created world. May it be so.
