Living by the Numbers

I discovered this morning why I hate “living by the numbers”

Numbers are pure logic. 

A certain kind of reality devoid of emotion and feeling.

Numbers tell a certain truth.

You know they don’t lie

They are just empty and unloving.

Remember Joe Friday

“Just the facts , Ma’am”

He said, with a cold tired face.

One steeled against the cold, harshness

Of a criminal act,

His forlorn, puppy dog eyes

Betraying his sadness at the whole thing.

Numbers explain the Universe,

Bringing order to the chaos,

They tell us why the earth

Is perfect for habitation

But they don’t tell us why

We would want to live there.

Numbers don’t see the beauty

Of the number of animals.

They only count how many

And that there are or aren't enough

To feed others.

Just cold hard facts.

Numbers say you must have money

To live

Numbers lead us away from compassion

Numbers are greedy little entities.

They want more of their kind around

And shun you if you don’t have enough of them.

They are cold, they are unloving, uncaring.

Living by the numbers makes the world a sad, lonely place.

Numbers need to be balanced

By feeling, by emotion.

Without feelings

Numbers become dictators,

Ungodly task masters

Demanding what they want

And destroying when they don’t get it. 

Numbers start wars

Because after all it is just about numbers

So what does it matter if untold numbers of people die.

They are just numbers on a piece of paper anyway.

Numbers rob us of our humanity.

They rob us of our feeling toward ourselves,

We become slaves to numbers.

We forget who we are

And how we should treat one another.

When data becomes more important

Than caring about the people next door

The numbers are winning their fight

To create an unfeeling world

One ripe for domination

Of cold, hard, uncaring facts and figures.

They are robbing us of our humanity!

(by LAF)