What is the Law?
What is the Order?

Years ago, in the days of Jefferson,
His father, surrounded by slaves,
Taught the importance of self-sufficiency
No slave dared utter a word about the irony, the paradox
No slave dared utter a word about the dignity of all men
Such was the Law
Such was the Order

As the Nation was born
And men celebrated their freedom from distant oppression
Women dared not ask about oppression in their own homes
Black men dared not ask about oppression in their own homes
Jewish men dared not ask about oppression in their own homes
Poor men dared not ask about oppression in their own homes
Women and men, wanting different choices for themselves, choices of freedom
Freedoms of the promise of the new Nation
They wept in oppression in their own homes
They took their own lives in desperation in their own homes
Such was the Law
Such was the Order

“Out West” offered new hope and new beginnings
Except for the people already there, their lands now stolen
Their nations driven further west, to barren lands
The Cherokee tried so hard —
Their clothes, their language, their slaves —
All to prove their men were equal to men with power
But they lost their land
But they were driven West, far Out West
Alongside others branded as savages
Their skin was what made the difference
Their skin made them worthy of beatings, worthy of murders
Their skin made that which God had forbidden permissible
Under the Law
That preserved the Order
Such was the Law
Such was the Order

Swinging from the tree
A body whose murderer
Would face no Law
Because of his place in the Order
Such was the Law
Such was the Order

A man and woman born free in Rochester
Lived in fear of the slave catchers
They could be made slaves in the land of the free
Such was the Law
Such was the Order

Weeping in her bed
A woman whose rapist
Would face no Law
Because of his place in the Order
Such was the Law
Such was the Order

One drop of blood
Made a man less of a man
And a woman less than nothing
Such was the Law
Such was the Order

The war was fought to preserve the Nation
The Laws were changed
The Order was changed
That the victory of the Nation preserv’d be not hollow
But the war was not over
And the losers of the battles
Became the winners of the struggle political
And they changed the Laws back
And they changed the Order back
And they made the victory of the Nation preserv’d hollow and empty
And as they raised the statues and flew the flags
Their boots walked on the backs of anyone they wanted to walk upon
And that person could be killed for protesting
Injustice
And as they raised the statues and flew the flags
They did celebrate that they needed not slaves anymore
Such was the Law
Such was the Order
That they had created anew
As they raped and killed
And choked the throats
They could not be convicted
They could not be outvoted
They could not be unseated
They could not be moved
Not even by Jesus’ teachings
Such was the Law
Such was the Order

Oh, and they weren’t done with Jesus, were they?
He had not been crucified enough, they had to do it again
“Inasmuch as ye have done it unto the least of these my children, ye have done it unto me”
And so they beat Jesus, they raped Jesus, they called Jesus names of hate
They took the vote from Jesus, they burned the home of Jesus, they tarred and feathered Jesus
Oh, they dragged Jesus from their carts until he was dead
Oh, they beat Jesus with rods until he was dead
Oh, they hung Jesus from a tree in the dark of night
Because they claimed with their lips to be Christian
But their hearts were far removed from the Master
They crucified Christ, and did so in the name of Christ
Profaning and blaspheming, slaying innocents in the name of Jesus Christ
Beating and raping and hanging Jesus
Because they knew not what they did
Such was the Law
Such was the Order

And the people so desperate for work
They would work for wages less than slaves’
They were paid so,
Capitalism putting the nails in the coffins of chattel slaves
Creating graves for the wage slaves
Creating graves for the debt slaves
Such was the Law
Such was the Order

I can show you where it is cheaper
For a certain firm
To pollute and poison the waters of a poor village
And pay a daily fine
Than to suffer the people to drink pure, clean water
Such is the Law
Such is the Order

I can show you where it is better for business
For a certain firm
To make a slave of a prisoner
Such is the Law
Such is the Order

I can show you where a man can rape a woman or another man
And the world knows of it
And yet that man holds great power and authority
And his supporters will claim to follow Jesus Christ
Even though their leaders rape Jesus Christ
Such is the Law
Such is the Order

And let those oppressed by the Law
And let those oppressed by the Order
Let them speak up
Let them sing their songs of hopeful freedom
Let them look up to Jesus Christ to deliver them
Let them walk together in their numbers
Jesus Christ in the midst of them
And those who oppress will line up the police
And those who oppress will line up the soldiers
And those who were oppressed are oppressed again
As the batons rain down on Jesus’ crown of thorns
As Jesus Christ gags on poison gas
As Jesus is driven from his house
And a rapist walks on broken glass to that house
That he might look the part his followers expect of him
Demanding the Law and the Order of generations
To fall upon the heads of those oppressed by it
Such is the Law
Such is the Order

The Law is unjust
The Order is unjust
Is it just to demand Law and Order?
Is it right that we continue to oppress by demanding Law and Order?

That person, bleeding on the sidewalk
That person is Jesus Christ

That person, choking on poison gas
That person is Jesus Christ

That person, crying out for justice
Crying out for a Law that is just
Crying out for an Order that is just
That person is not asking for the Law and Order of the day
That person is Jesus Christ

As God watches us with unbearable compassion
He weeps for his children that have made unjust Laws
He weeps for his children that perpetuate unjust Order
For they are lost to Him
Their souls make deliberate steps toward perdition
Those who die under oppression, without justice
They die unto God
Those who die thinking the oppression was just
They are told to depart from Him, for they never knew Him
Even though that was Him
Who they strung up on that tree
Even though that was Him
Who they told not to get uppity
Even though that was Him
Who they told to be sure He remembered His place
In that Law of theirs
In that Order of theirs

The people who pray for freedom
Are truly praying for the souls of their oppressors
For no unclean thing can enter into the kingdom of God
Such is His Law
Such is His Order

Oh, they profess to know Jesus
But they invite Beelzebub to their barbeques
They have Satan over to their socials
They ask Lucifer to come to their luncheons
Abbadon is an upstanding citizen in their associations
Moloch attends their meetings
And Gorgo is their government
Such is their Law
Such is their Order

Then there comes the time when the time has come
And the world is wrapped up as a scroll
The stars fall from their places
And true Law is found
And rightful Order is established
The people who prayed for the souls of their oppressors to be turned, to be saved,
They inherit the earth
The people who forgave as they died
The people who lived on after they were raped
The people who prayed on after they were beaten
The people who fasted on after they were cheated
The people who did plead for a mighty change to come upon their oppressors
Theirs is the kingdom of God
Such is the true Law
Such is the true Order

Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbor, and hate thine enemy.
But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;
That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.
For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same?
And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so?
Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.
Such is the true Law
Such is the true Order

In 5 months of active combat in World War One, Austria-Hungary, with a population of 51.4 million, had roughly 133,000 soldiers killed in battle. Many more were wounded and taken prisoner, but I’ll focus on that number. 105,000 were on the Russian Front and 28,000 were on the Serbian Front. On both fronts, the Austro-Hungarian armies were frequently ordered to engage in frontal bayonet charges against prepared enemy positions, without preparatory artillery bombardment. Austrian officers often did not speak the languages of their troops and the central command had no coherent plan for war, as it exhausted troops with marches back and forth to different strategic positions on whims and failed to coordinate sufficient ammunition and equipment for front-line troops.

That’s 150 days of combat, roughly, and that works to 887 deaths per day for the army. Adjusted for population to match the USA today, that would mean multiplying by about 6.5: 5766 deaths/day.

True, while the US average of 1200 deaths/day over March-May of 2020 is between a fourth and a fifth of the Austro-Hungarian number, let’s also remember that we’re comparing our numbers to one of the worst-managed armies in the whole of the conflict in this exercise.

The USA spent 200 days in combat in World War One and sustained 53,000 combat and 116,000 total soldier deaths from a population of 92 million. Adjusting for today’s population, that would be equal to 190,684 combat and 417,347 total in those 200 days: 953 per day combat and 2086 per day, total.

Since 1 April, only 7 of the 64 days had less than 953 per day for combat. 16 have been higher than the total deaths per day in World War One for the USA, adjusted for population.

COVID-19 casualties in many other nations are nowhere near wartime numbers, even when adjusted for modern populations. In the USA, they are. That they are speaks to the badly-managed national response to the pandemic. Even if there’s plenty of blame to go around, that all goes back to the person at the top. It all came down to his decisions leading up and during the crisis that set the stage for the needless loss of lives – both buried and permanently wounded from this experience. That we continue to see high daily numbers is testament to the continued failures of the national leadership, of which the president must be the focus of the blame and criticism.