ANXIETY

They need us to be anxious,
So we'll rush to buy the products,
In the next commercial break,
That meet needs we only first imagined
When warned of their existence
In the commercial break before.

They need us to be anxious,
So we'll pay to fund their research,
Into how and why and when we worry.
And then we become statistics
For the next investigation
Into even greater worries
With which to be alarmed.

They need us to be anxious
Or we might not cast our vote
That grants them the power,
To build the perfect world they’ve sold us.
The one that their opponents
Have told us we should fear.

They need us to be anxious
Or we might not watch the evening news
To boost their ratings and buy their papers.
And God forbid that we might find the consolation
Of listening to each other instead of them,

Or even worse
That we might make the space and silence
To listen for the voice of God Himself.

Click here for our reflections on words
Click here for our reflections on memories
Click here for our reflections for Advent
Click here for 'What's on your plate?'

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