I just read about some kids from Providence who dressed up as Zombies in protest of their schools placing too much emphasis on standardized testing. Maybe it’s "The Time of the Season" for such concerns.

There is little new to be said here but much to be reminded of. Some take heed of such offerings, yet many still don’t, choosing mirrors, tests, scales, bank accounts and the DSM-V for wisdom instead. What I have written here is a tale about living during times when images are valued over substance.

While we argue about budgets, guns, immigration, politics, etc., etc., the argument often becomes larger than its intent. Maybe the kids are on to something. Enjoy the show.

                                               The Circus

Hello gents and ladies

and welcome to the feast.

We’re glad to have you all tonight

to celebrate who does least.

We’ll hold a ceremony –

give out titles and awards –

everyone can clap and shout

and rattle all their swords.

Can I have your attention

for a moment on the stage –

here was once a hero –

but now he’s in a cage.

Who would have thought years ago

he’d performed each and every act

with a clockwork precision

and appropriate tact?

His area was nice and tidy –

his children knew their place.

He loved living in the circus

and the old rat race.

But now he went and did it –

he broke off all the rules,

then informed all the strongmen

the animals and the fools

that there was much more

outside the circus –

a life lived without a wire –

ladies and gentlemen –

I give you the living liar.

Look at his hungry look

how he craves to have much more.

See the passion in those eyes,

have you seen his likes before?

Of course it’s in his interest,

to keep him in a cell

for if we didn’t protect him

he’d head straight for hell.

He’d climb up to the mountains,

fall passionately in love,

question things, sail the seas

and think of up above.

However, we all know better

that passion's life is a curse.

We’ve caged him for your enjoyment

and we both don’t feel much worse.

For you see, passive admirer,

who have paid for your seats,

you are in a cage as well –

only yours is of deceit.

Your lives, faceless boredom.

Your soul it seeks despair

and I a Master of Ceremonies

simply do not care.

But at least the cage’s fool

seeks what’s beyond his reach –

while you an empty vessel

rant sermons that smell of bleach.

Come back again tomorrow

for an evening all aglow

and enjoy another episode

of "Who Is The Real Freak Show?"

Do we ever wonder why the United States incarcerates more people than other civilized nations? Why are there so many violent gun deaths here? Can these be medicated or jailed away? Is there a root cause (or series of causes)? Alienation, despair and lack of purpose are powerful dynamics. Sometimes it is just easier to pretend they don’t exist. Maybe that’s where the prescription meds, cops in school and all of that "Race to the Top" stuff comes in. To keep appearances some powerful bug juice needs to be swallowed. There is nothing wrong with having nice possessions, going off to expensive colleges and living in places where you feel safe. But alienation and lack of purpose can follow you there as well. Perhaps there is a trade-off. And I guess that’s my point. Shouldn’t we be teaching our next generation that there is much more outside the "circus"? Can meaning be taught and measured in school?