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An Argument for Constant Crisis

Lachlan Macleod, 2008

My fellow students of the Arts
I gathered you not just for food
Or an excuse
For drinking well-made wine


You’re here to witness my discovery:
The essence of existence lies
Here on my page
The notes for this, my speech


And while my argument is sound
I ask of you, please listen well
To my full verbal exploration
Of this new theorem


I read a quote from our man Chekhov
“Any fool can best a crisis,
Life is harder day to day”
I paraphrase; the meaning stays the same


And what is it, my friends, that we
Desire most from life? Who knows?
We don’t know which is more important,
Our finance and possessions, or our health


Confronted by this difficulty,
Should we, in the interests of society,
Make the answer clearer for our people
By holding them in a constant state of crisis?


Is life not better in a crisis?
Life gains meaning and significance
Those who didn’t know their value before
In crisis thrive


The layman rises in crisis
From his day-job pushing papers,
He emerges to commit heroic deeds
And through crisis he will find self-value


Love erupts in crisis
A husband and wife, previously locked in silent argument
For fifteen years
When facing death and destruction, they will speak again


So join me, brethren, on a destructive rampage
For the good of all
Come, we will destroy the city
And in doing so give value to those prevailing lives


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