The Icons of Babylon (the United States)

If we were truly a people of liberty,
Would we honor Christopher Columbus,
who dismembered natives in front of their families,
and who took them for slaves?
The Knights of Columbus is a Roman Catholic organization,
Named after this oppressor of indigenous people,
So we know where the Roman Catholic Church stands regarding this issue.
They like the fundamentalist orthodox Christians
of Europe and the United States,
Support the notion that a conquered people is an inferior people.

Would we honor George Washington and Thomas Jefferson,
Who were slaveholders and  who supported the subjugation of Indigenous,
Yet we have monuments to these slaveholders,
to these oppressors of native americans and blacks
all over the United States.
So we know where the government of the United States Stands.

Would we honor Anthony Wayne,
Who was called "Mad Anthony"
because of his zeal in subduing and killing natives,
Yet we name universities and counties and streets
After this oppressor of native americans,
So we know where those who direct our educational systems stand.

If we were truly a people devoted to equality,
We would assure ourselves and our children an environment
Free of the false idols who are the enemies of equality,
such as Christopher Columbus, George Washington,
Thomas Jefferson and Anthony Wayne,
who supported the oppression and enslavement of people.

If we were truly a people who believed that we should
Love your neighbor as your self,
that is, treat them as an absolute equal,
sharing all things equally,
then we would see the evil of such scriptures
that say, wives obey your husbands, slaves obey your masters,
scriptures that say homosexuals should be excluded
from our religious centers,
scriptures that say we can oppress and enslave animals.

If we were truly a people who chose to be all compassionate,
in our efforts to be one with the All-compassionate Creator,
we would not exclude any creature from our compassion.
 We would abandon all industries
that oppress, displace, enslave, or kill other creatures.
We would not cause pain to any being.
We would be compassionate to all creatures.

You who say that these thoughts are the thoughts of a utopian dreamer--
Look at the hellish world you so called realists have created!,
A world in which the air, the water, and much of the earth itself
have all been polluted by the toxins of industry.
Industry is not evolution to greater states of good;
It is regression to deeper states of degeneration and evil.
Industry does not heal us.
To the contrary, it is necessary to heal ourselves
from the poisons that industries have created.