Spread the Fear
The radio turns on to wake you
For the next work day
The first thing that you hear is how
The world is in dismay
People being run over
By cars that fled the scene
Another child missing and
Another murdered teen
A cop shot down by bad guys while
Making an arrest
Right between the eyes and then
A couple in the chest
Earthquakes tearing buildings down
And storms that loom ahead
The more you tune in to the grief
The more the fear is spread
It slowly crawls off of the paper,
TV, or radio
And creeps into your mind where it
Will never cease to grow
Countries warring with each other
“What if it spreads to here?”
Economy is crashing, “I’ll lose
All things I hold dear!”
And more you fear, the more you’ll tune
Back into the fear vendors
Hoping that someone will come
To be our tall defenders
Surprise, surprise, there’s just more fear
There’s just more ache and dread
Just more reasons to stay home
And not get out of bed
At some point you must admit
That what they’re dolling out
Is no different than a drug
That you snort up your snout
Tuning in to hear the constant
Destruction and death
Makes you just like a junkie
Who’s addicted to meth
You’ve snorted, shot up and smoked it
So long that now you’re hooked
“A car crash on the 401?
Ah, now I’m feeling cooked”
“I’ve gotta see the news tonight!
Some kid got knifed at school!”
And when that story’s done, you’ll wait
For the next piece that’s cruel
I turned my news off long ago
When it was clear to me
That every venue in the news
Reported “balance free”
They focused more on fear and dread
And less on things with hope
Their business is in dealing their
Despair inducing dope
I know this for a fact because
I put them to the test
Recently when I embarked
An altruistic quest
I set out to raise funds and hope
For cancer patients who
Are battling a bigger fear
Than news could ever brew
Some local papers said to me
“We’ll think about it some”
Guess they needed time to try
To spin it as more glum
And others, no response at all
Not interested in hope
More concerned with spreading fear
Than helping patients cope
Same goes for the TV stations
All except for one
Not enamoured with the tale
Since there’s no smoking gun
Point proven both to myself
And hopefully to you
About the kind of message that
The newsman likes to spew
You won’t find hope or strength or faith
When you go turn that dial
All they want to dispense is
All of their fearful bile
Stop the spread and tune out from
The news that does not good
The stories that discourage you
From seeing things that could
Set your mind at ease and rouse
Your passion and your nerve
To realize the greatest purpose
In life is to serve
The fear wants you to stay inside
And keep serving their needs
Listening to their commercials
Bringing them proceeds
The fear will keep you in your house
Curled up in a scared ball
Only when you turn it off
Can you start walking tall