Rolph David
The Censors' Gag!
The poem digs into the growing tension between cultural sensitivities and the freedom of expression. With no tolerance for unbridled humour and the diminishing space for satire, this piece questions the cost of cancel culture, political correctness, and "woke" attitudes on personal freedom and societal truth. How long can we mute humour, satire, and unfiltered expression before it silences us all? The poem calls for a restoration of respect, diversity of thought, and the right to laugh—even at the uncomfortable.
In a world where words are measured, thoughts confined,
Where humour dares not tread on toes aligned,
We walk on eggshells, fearful, self-contained,
As though our speech itself was preordained.
Gone are the days when satire cut like steel,
When jest could probe and challenge what we feel.
Now cancel culture prowls with sharpened teeth,
Condemning those who wander far beneath.
The “woke” declare which words we cannot say,
Where jokes must bow to politically correct sway.
Once, playful jabs at gender, faith, or race,
Now deemed too harsh to have a rightful place.
Social justice warriors hold their banners high,
Condemn the art that makes their standards fly.
The stand-up comic, once a daring knight,
Now fears the wrath of those who claim the right.
Examples ring—a joke on men, once tame,
Now met with calls to ruin or to shame.
Cartoons that mocked the norms of olden ways,
Now stripped and scorned for failing modern praise.
How long must voices soften, bows must bend?
Who dares cry “Stop!” and mark this madness’ end?
To speak the truth, unshackled and uncaged,
For satire thrives when freedom’s not upstaged.
When comedy is tamed, and laughter dies,
And art must paint with only muted lies,
We lose the spark that makes us question, think,
Our world reduced to dull and lifeless pink.
The world needs room for humour’s cutting wit,
For satire’s sting, and jest that doesn’t quit.
Without it, truth will rot behind closed walls,
While language, silenced, fades as freedom falls.
All rights belong to its author. It was published on e-Stories.org by demand of Rolph David.
Published on e-Stories.org on 10/07/2024.