Dueling Poems: “The World’s Gone to Hell in a Handbasket” (Satire) vs. a Reasoned Response

Hi, friends. Hope my fellow Americans had/have a wonderful Thanksgiving with your loved ones. Though none of our lives are perfect, we have a lot for which we should be grateful.

Speaking of which, this is a poem poking fun at those who believe the world has gone to hell in a handbasket and will be destroyed by God’s wrath any day now. Though I certainly won’t deny how injustice, oppression, etc. run rampant in the world today, I hope to illustrate through this poem that evil has always run rampant in our broken world.

[Humorous sidenote: My grandpa, who grew up dirt poor on the heels of the Great Depression, used to say, “The only good thing about ‘the good old days’ is that they’re gone!”]

I’m only an “okay” poet, so forgive the varying line lengths. Also, this satire doesn’t quite meet the technical definition…just know the parts in italics represent the person who feels the world has gone mad. Lastly, forgive me for leaving out the other one million events/conditions from the past I could’ve mentioned.

Enjoy, and remember to count your blessings always!

“The World’s Gone to Hell in a Handbasket”

The world’s gone to hell in a handbasket!

Society has lost its way!

We’ve never seen as much evil and chaos

As we do today.

In the ancient days of Rome and Greece,

Nero burned human bodies for party lights.

Men “mentoring” boys, using them as playthings,

Was a tradition deemed natural and right.

Skipping forward to the 1000’s,

Empires fell, and the middle ages began.

A migrant crisis started, trade collapsed,

The black plague killed one third of Europe’s population.

Skipping way forward in history,

Let’s reflect on the last few hundred years:

Witch trials, genocides, the Holocaust,

Civil wars, world wars, the Trail of Tears.

I’m insulated by my modern life and my #firstworldproblems;

I lack a historical view of oppression and pain.

When I see moral degradation and struggles around me,

It feels like we’re doomed; the world is going insane.

Remember when we kept people like mules–

Called them property, denied their humanity?

Tragically, the fight for real equality

lasted over a century (and continues debatably).

Before the days of modern medicine like antibiotics,

Many people died from now-curable illnesses.

And prior to smartphones, a couple decades ago,

We didn’t have the world at our fingertips.

Less than 100 years ago,

Running water was a luxury,

And rather than driving cars,

People hitched a horse-and-buggy.

But I like to think I’d trade it all

To go back to “a simpler time.”

These darn kids today

Just don’t know what it was like!

A Reasoned Response

Though I poke fun at the gloom-and-doom view,

I understand why people feel this way.

But sin has always been a problem–

That’s the point I want to make.

Violence, persecution, oppression, injustice

Exist around the world today.

I don’t mean to minimize that;

I strive through mission work to make change.

We face urgent problems in 2019–

Like human trafficking, which is modern slavery…

Foreign sweatshops in the “fast fashion” era…

Half the world lives on a daily household income of $2.50.

But considering the conveniences many of us have,

like cars, medicine, and bathrooms inside,

And considering some social changes,

like black people’s freedom and women’s rights,

Perhaps, instead of dismissing all that,

We should thank God for our blessings,

And, instead of moaning about sin in the world,

Seek opportunities to help and get busy!

Thanks for reading? What do you think–has the world gone to hell in a handbasket? What are you thankful for? Let me know in the comments.

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