Greed

Today I am master
Of social interactions
In business, politics, religion,
Relationships and family
I feed off ignorance and apathy
With mutual reinforcement
I want and take more than I morally deserve
And demand undeserved subsidies and privileges
I motivate dictators, politicians,
Religious leaders and governments
To seek and maintain power
I am protected from competition
And sustained by voter apathy
For the cost of organizing and lobbying
Is greater than the voter’s own benefit
I depend upon apathy to subdue social action
I cringe in the presence of sympathy
For sympathy can replace me with giving
I depend on the absence of sympathy
And benefit from the fruits of ignorance
I encourage ignorance to be reinforced by apathy
And I exploit ignorance in those
With insufficient sympathy to rebuke me
I reluctantly acknowledge sympathy
As a stronger motivator than self-interest
However, I encourage selfishness
To be the master motive of human action
I hide in the darkness of the human soul
And shun the light of righteousness
I am furious
When I am replaced
With knowledge, sympathy,
Charity and forgiveness
For my name is Greed

Roy L. (Bonefish) Nave
October 25, 2002