Temples Of Authority

Temples Of Authority
© Surazeus
2018 05 27

The constant turmoil of human aggression
causes imposition of law and order
through reaction of stronger government
to arrest and restrain rebellious forces
so offices performed by noble heroes
encrust into powerful institutions
that require new people to maintain strength
of life beyond each passing generation.

Like coral reefs erected by small creatures
who live and die for many generations
yet leave behind massive calcium structures,
government institutions grow from work
of individual officers who follow
guidelines established by actions of heroes
so monarchies long ruled by dynasties
of individual kings spring from great gods.

Yet why do we build nations on one god
who played dramatic role of noble action
wrestling death and defeating greedy tyrants
to lead their band of people through the desert
in hungry quest to find the fertile garden
and, after killing indigenous tribes,
establish eternal empire of justice
based on the story of his great achievement?

I would push statues of heroic gods
off high pedestals of national worship
and burn legends of their noble achievements
to free minds of all people from the grip
of their huge overshadowing divinity
so every person can write their own myth
that stars themself as the heroic god
on quest to earn happiness through great action.

Instead I would place statues of the gods
of every nation in hall of great heroes
on equal level in myths of mankind
so every tale of heroic achievement
is read and cherished by all human tribes
and presented to children as role models
for wrestling death and defeating numb fear
that blocks true way to build our own good lives.

Though institutions of our governments
loom over us as temples of authority
we navigate the endless maze of mirrors
to evade illusions of social power
and seek to live our own dramatic lives
refreshing old systems of interaction
to break beyond the walls of paradise
and write new myths in the history of life.