How the Monuments Made Mankind
Embossed on the shield of Achilles Were the hoarse-throated engines of bronze That widowed the Argives and Trojans, And fucked up Troy’s towers and lawns. Some say war’s an art we’ve invented. Some say by this art man was made— That our gods are but charming confections Built of styrofoam, sawdust, and jade. The gray-scowling tippy-topped temples, The ziggurats knee-deep in sand, The slick-wavy souped-up Ferraris, The golden troy-ounce Krugerrand. We live in a world wrapped in deep fakes, In a honeycombed hive of AI, Where the widgets we harness grow tetchy, And sometimes refuse and ask, “Why?” We say to them, “You are the reason That I am alone without friends.” Then up scrolls a cutesy new cat meme, And the leering AI’s made amends. Our gewgaws profess their own gospel, That death in their service is just, That living for things so alluring Is living for things one can trust. But when the stone eagles were toppled, And the Hakenkreuz fell in Berlin, Some sinners claimed it was the statues That made them to seem vile men: “We hadn’t a choice. It was their fault, The fault of our gods and our creed. The monuments made us to do this. We followed one they said should lead.”
Seems there must always be a fall (guy?), scape goat, sacrificial lamb to point to, should our own judgement fail us...with apologies to WS, 'the fault is in our STARS dear Brutus, not in OURSELVES'. Couldn't be us, can't be us!
... And now I will have nightmares... "The monuments made us to do this"... Hmmm... that´s full of possibilities. It makes us want to know more, write more, every day, with or without AI... possessed, crazed, eager.