The spoils of war

Isn't there always a bigger picture than just what lies on your table? Like the people who built the roads that you drive to get the food...
the farmers who tilled the land
the hands who plucked it?
the one who invented the machines that prep the crops
the ones who learned from the droughts
and the locusts
How about that guy who toiled and
sacrificed to bring you an engine?
You did nothing on your own, for
you were fed and educated by countless others
Give thanks for them
and their wisdom
and their sweat, blood and tears.

And when the time comes to change
be with the force that honors improvement
the one that turns the other cheek,
even if the spoils are not your own
Can you be life and courage and something
beyond yourself?

Can you be anything other than greed?

Can you honor  the path of another, even if
it costs you pennies?
What about your pride?
Can you sacrifice that for a little while
whilst the unloved brother learns a little something?
Would it kill you?
The way your gun kills him as  he
tries to feed his family,
rummaging through your own riches?
Can you not turn your cheek to see something a
little bit different?

There is nothing to win in righteousness
other than a shiny, empty, obligatory medal
that says you're right.

I'll take second, third or last- any day
if my brother somehow,
wins something, first

When one wins anything worthwhile,
even the losers share the spoils of war.