Good Soldiers
Good Soldiers
Follow orders.
No matter the circumstance.
Do what you are told.
Against innocent civilians,
Against those who pose no threat.
Fulfill your duty,
No questions asked.
Do not question your superior,
Lest their wrath find you.
Even when deep down,
You want to.
But good soldiers follow orders.
We are made to protect.
We are trained to fight.
Trained to be unquestioning.
We are good soldiers.
We do our duty to our country,
Our communities,
Our families.
We fulfill our orders for them.
Because good soldiers follow orders.
Even when my friends die,
When dropped in a quiet city,
Even at home,
We perform our duties.
We are the Keepers of Peace,
The Fighters of Justice,
The Protectors of the Innocence.
Or at least that’s what I was told.
Since good soldiers follow orders.
What am I to do?
When fear is plastered
On the faces of those
Who cross my path?
The ones to protect.
The people that cower in their homes?
In local businesses?
Those that fear stepping outside,
From the chance of wrongful detention.
Doesn’t matter, good soldiers follow orders.
What am I to do?
When I see my comrades
Committing unnecessary violence, atrocities,
To the people of the community
We’re ordered to protect?
When they harass their fellow soldier
For standing up against their deeds.
Being reprimanded for protecting
The people we’re ordered to safeguard.
Maybe good soldiers question orders?
How am I to tell myself
I’m a force of good,
When I cannot stand up
Against the evil I bunk with?
How am I to look in the eyes
Of friends and families of strangers
That I am there for protection
When what they see is antithetical.
Good Soldiers question orders!
I can no longer stand this,
Letting fellow soldiers think
They are above the law,
Committing crimes against innocent bystanders,
Bullying their mates into submission.
No more!
We are ordered to protect,
And that is what we must do.
Turn that energy to the real enemy,
To fight with our communities
Against the real oppressors,
The real foes.
Not those living their lives peacefully,
Going day in and day out to support
Themselves and their families.
The real adversary that
Orders us to fight these quiet communities,
They are the ones to fight,
To question,
To protect these communities against.
Good soldiers follow the orders of the people.