Dilruba Ahmed
Our Country, Monsanto…
after Roque Dalton
Our country is governed mostly
by the Constitution, by three branches
with checks and balances. But our country
is also a little bit run by money
from Monsanto. Our country is very diverse
in its sources of money. You may
already know our country is run—
a little bit—by money from DuPont.
But perhaps as equally run by funds
from Chevron and, maybe, BP. Our country
is also a little bit run by Halliburton. Americans
are known for being rather kind and it’s true
our country is quite friendly
to industry. Our country is a little Bayh-Dole
which means our science is a little tax-funded
even when the results are slightly
corporate. Our country is a little bit governed,
too, by PhRMA, and perhaps by
the Biotechnology Innovation Organization,
also known as BIO, which sounds
like a chance to say a little bit
about oneself. Our country’s bio—
the version we perhaps tend to keep
to ourselves—shows we are a little bit run
by GEO and Corrections Corporation
of America. That is, we are governed
a little by for-profit prisons.
A little cash for kids, if you will—a few
dólares for a few quotas, a few beds left
to fill. True, our country is mostly
of the people, by the people, and
for the people. And it is a little bit more
for the people of the NRA. Yes, it may be
that perhaps Wayne LaPierre leads our country
more than checks and balances, more
than the aforementioned people: of, by, for.
Biostitute
The case against science is straightforward: much of the scientific literature, perhaps half, may simply be untrue.
— Richard Horton, Editor, The Lancet
Yes—that was an actual moth…the picture is substantially literal: we were good friends….I’ve always had the knack of attracting birds and butterflies and other wild critters….
— Walt Whitman
Let’s say the butterfly was meant to beguile. Brilliant
in its color, its cardboard and wire. How American
in the desire to self-mythologize. Should I
be surprised to learn this of your kind? Let’s be real:
wouldn’t you hustle your words if you could?
Look, I’m no worse. I’m no angel. No purist.
My tribe comes from a long line of bribes. Think
of what you know of smoking, of tobacco…
who wouldn’t grow helpless with such gifts
in each fist. Once you’re obliged, you are obliged.
Let’s suppose that, as a novice, I was good.
I worked quietly, diligently. I was true
to my word. But you know what they say
about those who finish last. There was not one
in my field I could not have surpassed—I was sure—
given the opportunity, the right venue, the needed funds.
I stood by, for a while, and watched lesser experts
rise. Then everything changed with a simple
proposition. A few minor conditions.
I’d been trampled long enough
to consider a negotiation, when choosing
otherwise would have been, let’s say,
unwise. Could it be that my chief struggles
for my career’s basic needs—funding, authorship,
prestige—after some time gave way
to pure greed? Day by day, I learned the need
for terms that everyone understands—laypeople,
business persons, politicians. If you
ask me now, I will change the law.
If you ask me now, I will play God.
Ask me, and I will parrot whatever words
are handed down. Are we so unlike,
you and I, intoxicated both by the power
of the word? From my lab or at my desk,
I gesture at the air with my pen
as though chiseling stone.
Once you’re obliged, you are obliged: A comment made by Mohammed Ziauddin to NPR regarding the Pakistani government’s practice of offering deeply discounted land to journalists.