Left Hand Or Right Hand? Poem by Alonso Menendez

Left hand or right hand?
Is the answer they demand
Would you rather we cut off your left hand or your right hand
What part of the question don't you understand?
This is how i feel every time i go into the voting booth
A choice between two candidates i feel are not telling me the truth
Where is my choice?
Who represents my voice?
All i see are empty promises never kept
The rat stole the cheese while the cat slept
The lesser of two evils is no justification
For choosing the leader of any nation
Would you rather we cut off your left hand or right hand?
I don't believe this mentality will lead us to the promise-land
I am right handed so it would be far worse to lose the right
But it's my left that gives the support where i find my true might
To lose either hand is completely unacceptable
And anyone who forces this choice on me is just contemptible
What i choose is that i have the opportunity to make a real choice
And with my vote acknowledge those who acknowledge my voice
What's wrong with picking someone based on their chances to win?
I find that question so ludicrous i almost don't know where to begin
We treat our elections like it's the super bowl
That our team wins is the most important goal
And candidates treat our votes as an entitlement
So as a result the parties perpetuate the establishment
They are selling us a propaganda campaign in order to get elected
But then the same favors are owed to the same people no matter who is selected
I cast my vote even though i was told it wouldn't count
Now shall i support a party where my influence has no amount?
It's back room politics that has disenfranchised me
Nothing is different from what i can see
I wonder just where was the candidate of change
When we democrats of florida where treated like we had mange?
I shall stand with those who stand with me
No matter on what party they happen or not to be
What is important is that my issues they choose to address
That is the measure by which me they can impress
Are you going to represent me
Or are you going to represent some lobby?
Will my voice count when i am in the minority
And you are being pushed about by the majority?
Can i trust you to stand up for what is right
Or do i have to worry about knocks in the night?
An enemy of the state to be taken away
With a political president who has nothing to say
Would you rather we cut off your left hand or right hand?
We are the losers when we submit to this command
I will not be a party to my own demise
If enough people believe then real change will arise
We should all vote for the person we consider best
And trust the same from all of the rest
Imagine the world we can conceive
If we all voted for who we believe
Instead of a resigned practicality that maintains the status quo
Through a two party system that turns on who raises the most dough
If the vote we cast is always against the other
The one we elect will represent anouther
We should be voting for someone instead
Then we could all start to move ahead
That is when i will believe that anyone can grow up to be president
No matter from what barrio or hood they may happen to be a resident
I shall be proud to be an american on that day
Because we shall have found anouther way
So for the good of the people i now hereby state
I shall be voting for Ralph Nader in 2008!