Fear is a Weapon

Fear is a weapon of mass destruction
and it's destroying our souls


everywhere you look
it's fear controlling our actions
reactions
splitting our communities
into factions
fractions of what we could be
showing us
what we really lack
is trust

fear drives a wedge between us
a wall dividing our spirits
dividing our love
our generosity
and creativity
small
insulated
lives.

we're told to be scared of everything
beware
terrorists
              governments
                                 religions
I hear
"they" are trying to
destroy us
             brainwash us
                                 manipulate us.
And naturally we rise to our guard
after all
we only hear horror stories
stories of fear
heroes and hope
are left hidden
for they bring in very poor ratings

in a day and age
where the world hangs in the balance
cold wars occurring daily
in a fearful, distraught environment
I contest the greatest WMD
the greatest thing that saddens me
is our own fear

and while fear may not
wield an easily visible weapon
you can still see it
on the faces of strangers as you walk by
for we fail to see our similarities
and commonalities
we see only the unknown
and the unknown "they" can never
be trusted

so while we build our walls of
steel
wood
people
laws
we fail to see
that despite our valiant attempts
to save life as we know it
our way of life
the "American dream"
our own fear
is ripping our collective soul
apart.