There Was a Great Nation... (Part One)

There was a great nation that wasn't that old.

Born when it broke from tyranny's hold,

The land once proclaimed freedom for all.

Who'd ever guess what would befall?

Here's what happened: a billionaire

With rude behavior and flaxen hair

Bluffed his way through an election

And won because of the law's imperfection.

Many voters could not understand

Why others had buried their heads in the sand.

That this outspoken man was the victor

Shocked many an election predictor.

Some said the win was not on the level

And gave the winner no reason to revel.

Whatever the case, this east coast resident

Became the nation's forty-fifth president.

(Many voters held misinformed views

From eating a steady diet of Fox News,

Gorging on pages of Breitbart sludge,

And wallowing in pools of something called Drudge.

They didn't see the signs that were looming

From a candidate NOT at all unassuming.

When demagoguery's alive and well

And one has a bill of goods to sell,

Some people miss the warning alarm.

They fail to imagine how much harm

A person can do to set back the nation,

And they give that person a standing ovation.

False news reports have power to affect

Election results when facts go unchecked,

And when people blindly accept what they read,

Manipulated "facts" do mislead.)

Before the newly elected official--

Whose reputation had been prejudicial--

Received an official swearing in,

He caused many heads to spin.

Posting on Twitter tweet after tweet--

Some of which were not so discreet--

He, on purpose or maybe not--

Depending on your school of thought--

Made many people and nations wary

With tweets that were more than a little bit scary.

To expand the nuclear capability

And disregard the world's volatility

Would be a plan that smacked of insanity

And also would be a threat to humanity.

The new leader just couldn't refrain

From posting such tweets that sounded insane.

Before taking office the leader selected

A team of advisers who truly projected

A frightening image to people who knew

What kind of damage officials could do.

Some appointees had donated huge

Sums to help elect their stooge.

Few had experience in their position,

But that didn't matter since their mission

Was not so much service, but instead

To kill the agency that they led.

One adviser, who stirred up much fear

And had his mouth in the new leader's ear,

Peddled conspiracy theories that made

Him sound like a madman on a crusade.

The country had never seen such a bunch

Of advisers so clearly out to lunch.

The new leader had a connection

With someone for whom he had great affection:

Vladimir Putin, a tyrant who led

A country called Russia, which once was red.

The reasons the two got so tight

Slowly but surely came to light:

The lifting of sanctions, business ties,

How to control people with lies…

The new leader's kids were also expected

To help their dad, who newly elected,

Had to make important decisions

Despite causing rifts and divisions.

(It's hard for a businessman

With a 90-second attention span

And whose thoughts keep disappearing

To make much sense of what he's hearing.)

The newly-elected president,

Who didn't care about time well spent,

Continued rallies from state to state.

The egomaniac couldn't wait

To stand before a cheering crowd

And share his petty thoughts out loud.

"I have a mandate," he muttered,

And falsehoods colored the words that he uttered.

"I'll make this country great again!"

Instead he made many hate again.

He promised to create millions of jobs;

But that was a ploy by him and his nobs.

The crafty plans of this bait and switcher

Would make the poor poorer and the rich richer.

The people would have a lot more to say

After Inauguration Day.

(To be continued…)

(12-26-16) By Bob B