If you give a nation a virus, And the news promotes panic and fear, The masses will listen and submit to the anchors Who dictate what happens that year. “There won’t be enough equipment And not enough hospital beds For all those smitten with the merciless virus, So we all must do something instead.” “Lock yourselves in your homes, Every town in the land; Stay apart for awhile, and For Pete’s sake, wash your hands.” The weeks will drag into months. The schools and businesses will close. The education of millions will be mediocre at best. The economy will suffer a blow. Though the people will make the best of it For as long as they possibly can, They’ll become restless and long for the freedom They knew before this ordeal began. “We’re all in this together,” Will be the motto for a time, But show them the image of one vast injustice, And the focus will shift on a dime. Send out some minions to instigate The violence, hate, and unrest. The pawns will follow and be led to believe That destruction and chaos are best. Though only a few are extreme in this way, They’ll believe the whole world full of hate. Keep fueling the hatred with obscure stories, Feeding the fire and sealing their fate. They’ll attack themselves and their history Erasing the past, and then… The lessons they’d learned through the centuries Will have to be learned again. Be wary of those who speak common sense For truth has the power of peace. Keep the masses in darkness with no glimpse of hope, And life as they knew it will cease. They’ll forget the original reasons For closing the whole country down. They’ll surrender their freedoms little by little, Believing their safety is found. Silence the voices that point out the flaws In this elaborate, chaotic plan. One little light in the midst of the darkness Can damage like nothing else can. Only report on the casualties Because truly, there’ll be loss and sorrow, But refrain from the focus on how many recover Because the numbers will give hope for tomorrow. The people will rely on the media To give them the “facts” that they hear. Keep them distracted, take more of their freedom, In this memorable election year. Promote the chaos and uncertainty With no resolution in sight, And the country will be eating from the palm of your hand, Believing what is wrong is now right.