Wow

When mind is made up, win is close. With one honest step, Change draws near. Emphatically established!

When mind is made up, win is close. With one honest step, Change draws near. Emphatically established!

"Althusser, sensible philosopher
And I'm the heir to his knowledge
Inherit polished ideology
That keeps the *ullshit at sea
Has me questioning critically"

I have to admit ignorance on Althusser, a quick google search shows that he was a French Marxist philosopher. I've always found Marxism intriguing, but wouldn't state that I subscribe to the concept. I can't help but wonder how society will turn out, with the wide adoption of artificial intelligence & automation, it seems like UBI will be a necessity to alleviate the woes of unemployment. I've read articles and journals that had a utopic view of the future, and a dystopic view of the future. History tends to point towards a dystopic view, but that definitely isn't set in stone.

"'Cos I've seen wanderlust wishes blow away
And I'll watch dreams wander my way
I'm feeling good again,
I'm repping for the fam'
And everyone's framing casual conversation in ideology till
BAM
I'm Benjy Braddock -
1960s till they hear my pleas
Generation gap reflective of 2016
Anti-war!
Counter-culture!
Vietnam!
Iraq!
Saudi Arabia!
3 tabs of revolution on my third eye
Looking up like I spy
A new era
Black lives matter, LGBT, Educational, Feminist
Movements on the move
Flowin', a collective followin' their individual groove
Spreading our message, no delay,
we're gonna play the game our way"

I love the flow and rhythm in this. The "3 tabs of revolution on my third eye" verse reminded me of Project MK Ultra, the illegal experimentation of LSD & other drugs on non-consenting subjects, which I know is the anti-thesis of what you were trying to say. I've never tried psychedelics, and don't have intentions of doing so, but I've always found them intriguing. I know that the psilocybin in shrooms have been used to treat chronic migraines/cluster headaches, and have been studied to show that they alter a person's behavior permanently (usually to become more creative, as well as introspective). I've also read articles on it being used to treat addicts but I can't recall if that was done in tandem with this plant that is indigenous to Africa. Sorry bit of a tandem, but the imagery of the third eye awakening from the usage of psychedelics is interesting (visually and metaphorically)

"Showing there's always room for improvement,
Liberal idealization over conservatives too
constipated to give a *hit about racial inequality,
Jerome not fully grown before, before 5-0,
BAM BAM,
he's gone"

Not sure if you're referencing a specific Jerome that was killed by police, or using a stereotypical african-american name, but regardless you made your point. It reminded of the Kanye West verse in his song "Gorgeous", where he said "Jerome get more time than Brandon", which this stanza alludes to as well; racial inequality, and the disproportionate killing of african americans by the police. The stanza is stark and holds no punches.

"Too constipated to give a shit about me or my lady
Reppin' for the rights of the LGBT,
Not conservative enough
I'm oozin rainbows, skittle scandal
Risin' up and blowin' candles
KO to the people's foe

*uck these political brawls
You'll never see me shopping for catcalls
Don't you stare at me
Don't you whistle and call me baby
You don't know what's in store but it won't be cheap
Gonna reap what you sow
Give you something more,
'Cos they've got different kinds and different lines
They've got different designs all dressed in the same crap coated *ullshit, double dipped
By different *ipshits who cared more about my sugar tits than my mind
They'll never get one bit of this
But I'll let em' eat their words, already served. Smeared in sugary bits of ultra bitter BS"

This follows the prior stanza of holding no punches, you articulate your points in a concise manner that flows well.

"'Cos life's some crazy *hit,
And where's my golden ticket?
Corrupted crooks burn the books
And everywhere I see,
I find the government and media spoon feeding me ideology
They're playing games dressing monopoly in Disney like
They dress racism in Disney
A nostalgic sequence slipping corrupted ideology when we were too innocent to see!"

I know I brought it up on your other poem, about media's influence on the general public to control them through fear, I believe it was just recent that Noam Chomsky, or perhaps it was a recent interview that brought up the points made by Noam Chomsky on how the media is capable of controlling the public.

"Gonna move for the movement,
Be teacher and student
Move for the movement,
Showing there's always room for improvement
A super adhesive solution

Now it's a different hue,
Misconstrued knowledge blinded by bought media
It's the illusion of choice, but I grant my own voice!
Media giants put em up
I'll call your bluff
Brain's been in the washer for a minute
Musty, rusty, biased BS
6 Corporations Controlling 90% of what we read watch or listen to
It's a-
Day gray,
Count em down
GE, NEWS-CORP, DISNEY, VIACOM, TIME WARNER, CBS"

I don't want to go off on another tangent again, but there was an interesting article I read that stated the media's coverage of Donald Trump played a key role in his campaign, and as well as a role in Clinton's campaign, not to mention that some of those mega-corporations have donated to Clinton's campaign.

"God bless the wealth of knowledge on the internet
Seek an informed truth
Don't you press mute
They're not gonna tell us who to listen to
Or not to think
I'm on the brink
Move for the movement
'Cos it's a -
Day gray,
Blacks got blues
Walk in another' shoes,
Stand taller son,
Informed, fight for your right and you're almost done
Phone bank, make a dent in our history
Going out and votin,' hopin' Sanders finds victory"

Yes, god bless the internet and the wealth of knowledge it provides. Was this poem written earlier and just posted now, I'm curious what you meant by Sanders finding victory since he was robbed of the democratic nomination, unless you're promoting a mass write-in for Sanders?

"I'm here for change, serve me up
Settin' up the festive feast
We're serving infinite portions of equality

'Cos It's a
Surreptitious superstructure,
Repressive state
That apprehends stereotypically
Convicting black men with a sentence 20 years greater than me
Greater than me,
What's your ideology?
See, they think it's the norm
They think that we stand statically,
Divided and conquered
But I don't concur
They don't know our story,
We're not going anywhere"

I don't even want to get started on the prison systems in general, but the racial inequality when it comes to sentencing needs to be addressed in a meaningful manner. Just recently a wealthy student that was selling drugs was spared jail because the judge thought it would affect her future (this is more of a class issue, since she's wealthy but I'm only bringing it up to point out that inequality in all forms exists in the legal system, the one place where it should not exist).

"'Cos Leonidas trained from birth
Measured worth through sharpened Spartan Spears
Wield the power of your mind, never yield, don't resign
'cos they fear we'll rise up and we'll give em a run
Faster than flash at the starting gun"

I like how you used the Spartan society as an example of how to not to conduct one's self, it pays homage to the adage of how the pen is mightier then the sword (well this stanza is a derivative of that).

"They've rigged the game,
Programmed corruptibility past what I can see,
A faded advertisement framed in ideology
But I'm here to open your eyes
I'm here to challenge their disguise

No outdated tradition -
A choice that went wrong,
This isn't that song
No Hillary catastrophe where I only pretend to be
Transformed.
New.
Progressive.
Wishy wash, mmmm, she's MUSTY

Now the people are waiting to dump trump for all that he's done
Build a wall against oppression
Build a wall against hate
Relate to your fellow human
No lesser, no better
I'll write you a letter and petition for justice
We'll rewrite the rules"

I've already laid out my thoughts regarding Clinton & Trump between this poem and your other poem, so I'll just say that these stanzas resonated with me, a lot.

"Like, how prisons gonna be privatized?
How we bout to let greed lead to our country's demise?
And how's HSBC gonna give back to me?
Bail me out of illusion, bail me out of hate, raise the gate
Gonna get off my desk chair and fight for our rights,
Showing damn right I care"

I think federal prisons are no longer going to be privatized but state-run prisons are still being privatized, and it's a shame really. The fact that an industry exists making profit off prisoners, without really doing anything to rehabilitate them like how Norway does.

"We're going back to the basics
'Cos outdated tradition shouldn't lead the mission of our schools
Standardization's got students learning for the test
It's rote memorization!
They'll forget, but I digress
Ipsative assessments tracking our progress

Exchange, rearrange, reform educational policy
Central oddity challenging your philosophy
We're not gonna be labeled,
Low track
*uck that
We're not gonna be bought"

I know this is a bit of tangent, but with the way A.I is progressing, and if UBI is implemented it will have dramatic effects, one of which is this unadulterated sense of freedom; one can live life how they want to, if they wish to pursue education in a certain field, they will no longer have to take economic factors into consideration, ideally UBI would be able to support them through it (& ideally college would be paid for via taxes). It's an interesting thought. The current education system doesn't reward critical thought as much as it does the ability to regurgitate information, and that is a problem.

"I sought a dream of wonderment
An unspoken land, no sham; power through knowledge
Instead I got terrorism funded by our government
Can't erase the days - blood stains
We're in a haze, it's Reefer Madness
Propaganda promoting violent actions
I'm half way out the door and she's on the floor - a bleeding actress, a living symbol
Convicted inmate, they didn't hesitate
Blame it on the drug, he's got that kind of mug
It's weed ma'am it makes em crazy, sometimes lazy"

I like the tongue in cheek reference to the financing of Mujahideen, the coverup of Saudi Arabia's role in 9/11, US involvement that lead to vacuums that resulted in extremism taking over. I'm trying so hard to stay on topic, but I just really want to point out that a lot of inmates are locked up for possession, and that isn't helping anyone, I believe it's spain (?) that decriminalized all drugs and treats drug usage as a medical issue as opposed to a legal issue, and offer support for addicts. It's an interesting approach to the problem that should be examined in greater detail by more governments at a minimum.

"Now there's
Kids on the streets sparking dreams
Put out by power hungry thieves
While they oppress and coerce confessions
I create, contemplate,
In a better world, Day dreamin'
I don't have to be fiendin'
For real change -
An opportunity
Bring it with me

No war,
quit keepin' score
Nothing casual bout a casualty
Nothing appetizing bout factory farming
A brother's starving and cold
but nothing's colder than the system
People squarin' up against the poor for needing welfare
It's the 1 percent that tries to take the 99
It leaves us blind,
And we're the 99"

I really like how the poem transitioned from racial inequality to the inequality between the classes, it was seamless and executed well. I don't want to delve too deep into the 1%, but it's ridiculous how much influence they have via superpacs, lobbying, etc.

"Step up,
Move for the movement
Education for all,
Don't stall;
let's make progress
Detangle, destroy the shackles on your mind's fortress

I've got so much more to say
Don't you press pause, I will press play
Rewind to the sublime, fast forward still, fluid movement for improvement
I'm a teacher and student,
An advocate for resolution

There's something not right
And this is our fight
Stand with me,
Looking beyond normative ideology
Be a historic part of something revolutionary

Cos we're gonna go places
We're gonna make changes
We're gonna
Move for the counter cultural movement
For critical, ideological improvement"

I'm not sure what to say other then that I enjoyed the ending.

I read this piece as a spoken word/rap as well, which I hope it was meant to be read as. I'm really digging the sociopolitical commentary, so keep it up!

Also have you ever thought about recording this?