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For Lack of a Khan For lack of a Khan, dearth of war, we might be aiding our own enemies, accidental in our drugged luxury. There is no blood on our hands, and one must wonder at our very humanity, for to be of the human has always meant to be a killer, a waster of life as an odd way to confirm that we do indeed breathe . . . For lack of a Khan, we lose a purpose, one of dominance and accrual of our victims' wealth, so new ways must be found to accumulate possessions that speak of our sovereignty over all others; for this severe lack we must find other means to thwart our enemies, indeed we must identify the real adversaries, perhaps at last coming to learn how human beings will never be the true foes of each other. Still we must understand we need an enemy to maintain this lack of a Khan. © Ward Kelley |
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Artist's note: Will and Ariel Durant (1885-1981 and 1898-1981) wrote in "The History of Civilization," that "It is almost a law of history that the same wealth that generates a civilization announces its decay. For wealth produces ease as well as art; it softens a people to the ways of luxury and peace, and invites invasion from stronger arms and hungrier mouths."Ward Kelley Bonfire contributor |