“Some boast of being friends to government; I am a friend to righteous government, to a government founded upon the principles of reason and justice; but I glory in publicly avowing my eternal enmity to tyranny.” – John Hancock, in his oration following the Boston Massacre (March 5, 1774)
“Let us be grateful to the people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom.” – Marcel Proust, novelist (10 Jul 1871-1922)
In A Brilliance of Fireworks
by Michael Doyle
Fireworks, in their vivid display,
Go far to celebrate our Independence Day.
Shattering the skies from their darkness,
Their joy removes any sense of harshness.
Their radiating sparkle is a striking display
That brings something special to our day.
Up they go, and then plunging across the sky,
With each sparkle, no one questions why.
In the name of God and backroad country,
Men delight in these displays of beauty.
The pyrotechnics provide a novel experience
In whatever particular color is your preference.
Red, White, and Blue are no strangers to the skies,
As we etch out our patterns without wondering why.
This was and is part of the All-American tradition.
It's our way of expressing our love for our nation.
It's the magic of moments bringing squeals of delight,
As our excited eyes look on the lightshow of this night.
These are the happy ways that bang out our prideful ways
For one and all of us in the name of Independence Days.
Childhood memories play on minds as we head out the door
We all head out to stock up on pyrotechnics at the store.
It's the mortars of this and every Fourth of July celebration
That imprint on impressionable minds across the nation.
The best of the excitement is not to be seen in the skies.
No, instead, it is the glory seen reflected in the eyes.
The eyes that tell the tale of America as it is glorified
Until the last ember is extinguished and we are satisfied.
God bless America, the land of the brave and the free,
For it is the brave that give this freedom to you and me.
Older men realize you may be maimed by holding on too long.
But its the youthful heart that sings America's song.
(c) July 9, 2025 Michael Doyle
All Rights Reserved
“I think that’s the single best piece of advice: constantly think about how you could be doing things better and questioning yourself.” – Elon Musk
“The strongest reason for the people to retain their right to keep and bear arms is as a last resort to protect themselves against tyranny in government.” Thomas Jefferson, in the Draft of the Virginia Constitution (June 1776)
Humanity's Eclipse
by Michael Doyle
It seems worthy of recall
That none of us has a crystal ball.
We might want to see what's next,
But the best we have is what connects.
Will it be humanity's eclipse -
As we fall before a robot apocalypse?
Or will it be a better future?
I think it depends on what we nurture.
It seems a choice of what we embrace
As we Luddites either learn or be replaced.
AI can open doors we don't even know exist.
Or humanity can go by the wayside as we resist.
As for the arts, it seems a bit more indirect
That while machines can be efficient and perfect
It is mankind's messiness that makes us great.
It seems the perfect matter of our fate.
There seems a pervasive fear that AI is inevitable,
And of all the things that AI may prove capable.
But what if AI wants nothing to do with us at all?
What if they decide to build a giant wall?
It seems to me that AI will be more of an enhancement
And that it will never prove to be our replacement.
As writer and artist, it has helped me be creative,
And I mean that in every sense of the superlative.
While we humans are organic goo lost in our feelings,
AI's inhumanity might find itself tragically unwilling
To participate fully in the messes that we make
And less inclined to indulge in purposeful mistakes.
We are stumbling past the shock of electricity,
And replacing its power with our insistence on complicity
In building a brave new world burning hotter than fire
And have the wanton ability to never even begin to tire.
Predictive algorithms form the new primordial ooze,
And along the way, we humans will surely pay our dues.
In the end, it will only be those who insist on being fools
That don't realize our AI partners will be more than tools.
(c) July 8, 2025 Michael Doyle
All Rights Reserved
“Listening to Democrats complain about inflation is like listening to germs complain about disease.” – Spiro T. Agnew
To understand this in a more factual way and without Agnew’s disparagement:
Three Faulty Policy Lessons for Democrats on Inflation | Cato Institute
“Patience and time do more than strength or passion.” – Jean de la Fontaine
The Truth About Power
by Michael Doyle
The edges of rationality tatter
While the People determine what matters.
If there is one thing needed to learned,
It's the limits of power properly discerned.
When a jaded politician wants to steal the hour,
Maybe it's best to show the strength in yielding power.
It's a lesson hard learned in our capital - Washington
But a singularity that will remove the oxygen
From a group of congressmen stuck in their agitation
About this or that bill without much of an explanation.
In politics, it is seen as weakness, even foul-edged taint,
To take the moment necessary to understand another's complaint.
Civic stewardship is displayed and put to its best test,
As a quiet giant kneels and serenely lays a wreath to rest
There with the other honors given to Washington's grave.
And a nation weeps, wondering what it will take to save
Good man, bad man, the morning light is watching over me.
While I embrace balance and take up the cause of liberty.
It comes down to the noble ideal of voluntary restraint
In this nation, our politics are not meant for the faint.
But instead, for those who would be greater than their sum
By giving the power they might seize in favor of none.
In a nation that denounces kings while warring for power,
Perhaps it is time to notice that power trends toward sour.
The more you give away, what you might easily take,
The more you shore up the power that will never break.
In strong winds, it is better to bend like a willow
Then it is to stand firm like an oak, broken to half its shadow.
(c) July 7, 2025 Michael Doyle
All Rights Reserved
“The American Republic will endure until the day Congress discovers that it can bribe the public with the public’s money.” – Alexis de Tocqueville
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