Seven blunders of the world that lead to violence: wealth without work,
pleasure without conscience, knowledge without character, commerce
without morality, science without humanity, worship without sacrifice,
politics without principle.
- Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948)

1. Politics.

“Only seventeen months until the vote,
fourteen before the primary –
a speech to dedicate a memorial
prayer breakfast to attend
staffer to fire
favor to place into a law
another phone call to place
ten to answer
before another term
and we start all over again
to prepare for a run
at the next rung on the ladder…”


2. Principle

Silent, with uniforms, music,
cheers or battle cry,
a wave of protestors advanced
upon a bulwark formed
of steel-clad lathi
and broke against the blows
of batons against bone

Another wave fell,
another and another
struck and scrotum kicked
through 2500 broken skulls
shoulders
bodies

"For hour upon hour endless numbers
of motionless, bloody bodies
were carried away on stretchers"…*

The Raj held the day against
a tide of half-naked fakirs
interested in nothing more
than the freedom of salt


* The scene of the protests at the Dhrasana salt works is perhaps the most moving scene in the movie Gandhi. More on the Salt Satyagraha and Gandhiji’s Salt March can be found on the web.

The quote is from Webb Miller, an English journalist, who was a witness.