Tree of Liberty: Poems for Social Justice, Politics and God

Poems for Social Justice, Politics and God. Poets speak out. Today, there is much to speak out about - the horror of gun violence, terrorism, racism, racially motivated shootings, the many tragic police-involved shootings of black men, the resurgence of white supremacy, violence and intolerance against gay people - there is too much injustice. At the dawn of our Republic, Thomas Jefferson wrote “the tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.” These days, tea party extremists quote it frequently. What did that mean 240 years ago, when muskets - which had to be loaded by hand one round at a time - were the weapons men used? What does that mean today when there are 300 million guns in our nation of 310 million people, and semi-automatic guns and assault weapons – weapons of war - are proliferating? When our Constitutional rights are threatened, we speak out. The Teavangelicals seek to weaken our Constitutional separation of church and state. Right here in Tennessee our Tea Party-controlled-Legislature actually passed a Bill making The Bible the Official Book of the State of Tennessee. The Governor vetoed this unconstitutional Bill, but it speaks volumes that our Legislature thought so little of our Constitutional rights to pass it. For Tea Party politicians, their ideology has become more important to many of them than the Constitutional rights of the people. When politicians engage in serial lying, lie upon lie, with impunity, we speak out. Politicians lie so frequently and with such abandon, it is as if they have no conscience or moral compass. Political rhetoric has become over-the-top outrageous and incendiary. The abhorrent rhetoric of the 2016 Republican presidential candidate, Donald Trump is too outrageous, and threatening. Yet his rallies have a carnival atmosphere, he amuses and entertains his fans, therefore he is nick-named “Trumpo.” Trumpo spreads fear, he is stirring up xenophobia by disparaging Mexicans, Immigrants, and Women, making an unconstitutional threat to ban an entire religion – Muslims, making the absurd threat to build a wall “and make Mexico pay for it.” He made a terrifying threat to create a “Deportation Force” to mass-deport 12 Million undocumented immigrants, which is reminiscent of Nazi Germany’s “Resettlement” of Jews during WWII. There is so much to write about, it is impossible to remain silent. It feels overwhelming, as though more questions have been raised than there could possibly be answers. Yet we must ask the questions. No one pretends to have answers. Poets do not answer questions, poets raise questions. Our freedom of speech and expression is sacred and precious. We exercise it because we seek truth and justice, and we hope for change. We live in dangerous times, yes, but also times of great hope and promise, because along with every problem or dilemma there is also hope and the opportunity for change. Lawrence A. Simons was born in 1953 in Columbus, Ohio. He was graduated from Columbia Military Academy in Columbia, Tennessee and from Vanderbilt University, in Nashville, and is a U.S. Army Veteran. He worked as a carpenter, social worker, Deputy Circuit Court Clerk, and songwriter before attending Night Law School. Larry studied law at The Nashville School of Law, and became a lawyer in 1988. He earned the Trial Advocacy Skills Diploma at the National Institute for Trial Advocacy, and he is a Fellow of the Nashville Bar Foundation, a member of the Tennessee Bar Association. He is in private trial practice in Nashville, Tennessee with a focus on Social Security Disability, SSI, Personal Injury, Divorce and Family Law cases. Larry is a devoted husband and father, a musician, a Black Belt in Tae Kwon Do, a horseman and woodsman.