“Quarantine Diaries,” by David Garyan (Day 38)

Quarantine Diaries – Day 38 April 21st, 2020

Trento, Italy

Democrazy

Too much food is growing for people to eat, but not enough breeds for everyone to buy. Tomatoes are still born from the earth, but picked from rich people’s pockets. Apples remain hanging from trees, but the branches are closed fists ... no, closed fists which won't let you steal— much less reach for and take from. Order and progress are fed like caged pigs ... no, like caged pigs when they’re ready to eat. Milk no longer belongs to the cow, and the cow no longer belongs to itself. Bodies are paid to be slaves when they can’t be sold into slavery. Where’s the justice in that? Doctors must cure so they, themselves, can afford a doctor one day. Soldiers must fight until they need to be rescued. Billionaires load weapons with vaccines, and after the loading, they them in Africa, while those without cures must fight their own famines. The rights to your mind, and even the body, are severed like diplomatic relation ... no, like diplomatic relations between two countries at war. Hunger is no longer the gun begging its government for bullets— it’s an army without rations, promising democracy. Freedom? What’s freedom? Is it really a one-way street named with a palindrome?