Kit Kelen #1067 - respect

1067

respect

or

the kid's are alright

you're the one who is wrong

for Bruce Baker

(I woke up late this morning and wasn't sure what to write, so thanks for the inspiration)

let's respect them

can we agree on that?

do you think they can't read this world?

do you think they don't know what's what?

I think they can read as well as we do

I think they see further into the future

they have a motive for that

these kids who gathered to speak their hearts

to tell the truth they see

no one made them – they took a risk

they took the risk because they care

yes this teacher has a strong opinion

but I didn't tell anyone what to think

or what to do or what to say

I saw them and I cheered them on

I don't know them and I wasn't there

I encourage everyone to think

to ask the questions

that need to be asked

you think they were wrong?

let's respect their right then

who to trust is always tricky

I think it's trickier for them

the young are stubborn with the truth

weren't you?

they see it everywhere

they see what's happening to their world

there is a solace in the facts

yes there are facts and a way to know

and always someone there to twist

because there's a buck in it

yes let's respect the right to be wrong

and let's respect the truth

for instance, smoking causes cancer

how many died in the grey of that fact?

and all these decades past that not-knowing

still there is money in making those deaths

but you're not one of those killers

then why believe the murderers' lies?

the forests are falling

so few are now left

species are vanishing every day

are you after adding koalas?

no, I think you love the koalas

I imagine you sing to them

believe you me, they're up a tree

and the reef is sinking

the wild winds are here

the fires, the floods are more

we humans are making this disaster

even as I type

some mundane violence

against the world

goes on for profit

in nobody's name

greed flies every flag

it was never a cause

now just imagine the world as a chimney

that's just about where we're at

and millions die each year from the smoke

that is an incontrovertible fact

not here of course

not in our yard

but where your car might have been made

or the clothes that are on your back

it's not to our blind eye, these deaths

nevertheless they are true

or is our world so little

we won't see the others?

we won't see what's what?

won't see who goes down?

still I'll defend your right to be wrong

those kids will defend you too

but please respect our right to tell you

the too much CO² in the air

comes out of the backs of our cars

up chimneys stacks

and it comes out of cows

no one's telling you you have to walk

we just want you to wake up, Bruce

wake up to yourself

respect yourself

respect the kids

respect our world as well

you think someone pays me to say this stuff?

no, this is my Sunday morning's work

who does the brainwashing round here?

who to trust is always tricky

and yes, some science has been bought for profit

votes are bought with whistles, with gossip

rumour is our enemy

and the means by which it's spread

let's less respect the mouth-off fools

who own a radio station, the papers

these kids who gathered to speak their hearts

to tell the truth they see

let's respect the risk they took

let's respect what they bothered to discover

let's respect the truth they now know

let's have some respect for learning

for knowledge where it is earned

for careful measurement by those who know

who've got the right end of the measuring stick

the world is bigger than we'd wish

the world is smaller too

ignorance is our enemy

stupidity is greed's best friend

you're not some pirate profiteer

you can respect those kids

cast your vote their way next time

think of the future they have to live

old Coal is a dinosaur death

leave it gone

myself – I'll vote for the truth

for a better world

I'll vote for the kids every time

these kids protested because they're aware

they know what's happening

they see what we're doing to this world

how bitter it is to see!

the truth – so often uncomfortable

terror in so many forms!

might be evil

is certainly wrong

but the suicide bomber is not a coward

it's fantasy to say so

else why our shrine

for those who gave their lives

for all our right to be wrong?

I'm telling you you're more than mistaken

your opinions endanger us all

but the peacemakers are blessed!

the ones who know a war is wrong

let's listen to them before we fight!

and when you tell a sleeping lie

I'll shake you wide awake

I'm telling you you're wrong

wake up!

those kids all say so too

yes let kids be kids

let democracy start with the young

let's teach them to care and to form an opinion

to respect the truth and the facts

then they will teach us too

they're teaching us now

the forests are falling

they go up in smoke

so few are left now

you live in one or near?

how's that for luck!

so don't be a fool

fight for the forest!

have a healthy respect for the weapons of death

but let's have fewer of those, can't we?

let's solve the problem when we know what it is

resepct our own capacity

respect the planet's too

some ways to be wrong are safer than others

some risks are not worthwhile

if coal was gold the risk wouldn't be worth it

not now with what we know

remember coal is still gold to some!

should we all take up smoking again?

it's like plastic in the oceans all joined up

more plastic than fish before long

and so many fish are full of the stuff

that's not nature – that's us!

it's not the way it has to be

but we can make it different

once upon a time

we couldn't know...

once the Earth was flat

it took no genius to see

the sun went round and round

then someone thought a little harder

and called on point of view

all saw

and now we all know

the universe bigger and bigger each day

and still no other life found

so puny we are

all agree on that

but we are here

and we can think

we're the only ones aware so far

and we've made this big difference

to the only place there's life we know

the seas are rising

the weather's much worse

people are dying

and many

and many

and many more will die

for the sake of oily greed

the scientists say

and the kids say

wake up

let's listen to them

are we scared to lose a few bucks?

those kids who gathered to speak their hearts

to tell the truth they see

no one made them do it – they took a risk

they took the risk because they care

and if they're wrong

they've learned that they have some fight in them

there's a difference they're able to make

and if they're right

then they'll make their world better

and ours as well, for the time we have left

can we simply agree that their courage is courage?

can we just accept that they make their own minds?

let's just agree on

RESPECT!