72 Fire Alarm and all of the other alarms we ignore
Published 2024-06-28
1
I’m reminded of the nursery rhyme,
The boy cried there was a wolf in his vision,
But when the real wolf never appeared,
The boy’s friends learned not to listen.
2
That is where we are today,
With alarms both loud and soft,
We are conditioned to either ignore them all,
Or reach over and turn them all off.
3
When is last time you heard a car alarm,
In the Wal-Mart parking lot,
Did you think to call the police,
The answer I expect is NOT.
4
What about that last tornado warning,
Did you all gather under the bar,
To hear the radon gas detector buzz,
Or spot the check engine light in your car.
5
And when the fire alarm goes off at home,
It is plastic and looks like a toy,
You know it only needs new batteries,
And you fix it fast to stop the noise.
6
The only alarms that seem to work,
Are built with increasing irritation,
Like the check seatbelt light in your car,
That tests the limits of exasperation.
7
Here is a test, do you know,
What is your US Threat Level guess,
And what if that alarm goes off,
We will ignore it like all the rest.