Hey guys, 

I recently had an assignment in class regarding society's expectations of people to fit into certain groups. The category I chose to write about was being a liberal. The American political system, ravaged by bipartisanship,  is advertised as the shining beacon of freedom throughout the entire world. In reality, it is only as empowering as the American people (liberals and conservatives) allow it to be. My poem both stresses the expectations of being a liberal by society and emphasizes the often hostile relationship between liberals and conservatives. 

Liberal Diagnosis

Wear jeans with holes in them; don't clean them before the week is over; hug trees repeatedly during your daily nature walk; pick flowers while marveling at the beauty of the world; don't you dare spit your gum out on the ground; think about the amount of pollution created by the factory that produced that gum; think about the big picture for once; be considerate you self-absorbed bastard; disagree with those close-minded conservatives about their concrete beliefs; agree completely with the abolishment of the death penalty; didn't that guy murder seven children? He might be innocent; you have to regard eccentric individuals with an open-mind; vote for the Democratic candidate even if you disagree with him on most things; smoke weed daily to fight for its legalization; but I care more about my lungs; you must think about the greater good; volunteer for a soup kitchen and fight for the rights of the poor; protest against laws you find unconstitutional; ignore the tear gas, because it is a small price to pay for your freedom; This is how you show the love for your country; honorable men died for your right to vote: don't become a complacent fool; you must vote every chance you get; protest against unjust wars even if you mentally damage our own troops in the process; be sure speak daily about the your disgust with former President Bush's blunders in the Middle East; don't listen to the right-wing nonsense that the American people elected him twice; blame Republicans for all that is wrong in the world, focusing especially on the catastrophic recession in America; they let big businesses grow out of control; therefore, the hardworking liberals are being punished for their greed; fight against the NRA's attempts to legalize personal gun use; guns kill children; you must respect and love people of different race, creed, and sexual-orientation; you must fight for their rights the way you would for your own; show those bigoted Republicans how forward-thinking you are; be sure to fight for the rights of gay, lesbian, and transgender couples; equal rights must be given to everyone; refuse to say the Pledge of Allegiance; religion must be kept out of all public spaces; ultimately, you must believe in the government to protect our civil liberties and human rights; one man alone is not capable of this.