typewriterdaily:DEMOCRACY TO COME, or THE POLITICS OF OPTIMISMI made an erasure poem from the transc
typewriterdaily:DEMOCRACY TO COME, or THE POLITICS OF OPTIMISMI made an erasure poem from the transcript of Donald Trump’s victory speech. Stripped of the hateful language that was so prevalent throughout his campaign, Trump’s speech was actually hopeful and inclusive—on the surface. For this poem, I chose to strip down that polished rhetoric and lay bare the hypocritical optimism that is at the heart of American democracy.This optimism works on two levels. For the winning side, it propels us into a hopeful future. For the losing side, it asks us to perpetually wait—for equality, freedom, justice. Democracy is always democracy to come.The attractiveness of optimism is undeniable. Often, we cannot help but look to the future. My poem turns Trump’s optimism on its head, consoling those of us for whom today felt like a day of mourning. In using Trump’s optimism against him, the poem is aware of how both parties utilize optimism for their own purposes, silently acknowledging the injustice of its own request: that we wait. -- source link
#beautiful#quotes#poetry#a