In the bread and circuses phase
of an empire’s waning days
skilfully framed spin-riddled reports
devised and arranged to shape not reflect
reality are fed to the orderly hordes
of hoped-for unquestioning simps
by undercover PR pimps and their loyal whores
by officers and soldiers in a corps
which only sees action
in the act of producing stupefying weapons
of mass deception and mass distraction
that saturate the Orwellian menus
of the media cartel’s
ubiquitous platforms and venues
where platoons of well-groomed perfectly-plastic
false-narrative parroting broadcast mannequins
— the cream of bullshit-pushing talking heads —
along with their exhaustively-vetted pundit guests
— all bona fide experts in fact-free conjecture —
do their professional censorial best
to ensure confuting truths
are ruthlessly suppressed;
where in the artful pitting of all against all
with the intent of fragmenting potential dissent
by fomenting tribal enmity at every turn
for the time-tested purpose
of rule through the orchestrated discord
of methodically fostered division
the masterfully vacuous coverage on offer
is — besides the customary running
through fatuous bits of trivia and gossip —
sure to include great dollops of identity politics
and similar wedge-issue-hammering
flame-fanning hot-button topics
along with regular reason-freezing segments
of bogeyman-conjuring fearmongering
and narcissism-reinforcing grievance porn
in the form of advanced victimology
and where in league and lockstep
with these and other superb diversions
never is heard a well-contextualized fact
or insightful unfiltered opinion;
where from the self-styled aristocracy’s
obedient media minions
never is heard a remotely enlightening word
that might however vaguely suggest
the all-pervasive predation
insatiable unchecked theft
and normalized war criminality
that’s practiced with presumptuous impunity
by the parasite class whose entitled clans
of insider elites and their notable cronies
take for granted their blanket immunity
from both rebuke and prosecution
with its threat of unwelcome scrutiny.
And so it is that we
benumbed dumbed-down citizens
are in addition to the usual profusion
of obligatory inanities
delivered a host of glittering
obscenely obsequious displays
of glib-lipped line-toeing shows
pre-screened Q’s & scripted A’s
rigged inquiries and fake debates
featuring a steady parade
of ready-made gushing and groveling
from a kowtowing cast
of plutocracy-serving
spittle-slurping lackeys
happily chirping
insufferably subservient views
on programs that laughably
masquerade as hard-hitting news;
on programs that while they may fool
the bulk of the brainwashed masses
come across
as nothing but fluff and gloss
to the skeptical few who refuse to stuff
their unbowed heads up their asses.