As a long-time consumer of murder mysteries and courtroom dramas,
I’ve absorbed the notion that, when searching for a perpetrator
Of some crime or aberration, it’s smart to ponder the question,
“Who benefits?” or, in Latin legalese, “cui bono?”
Immersed too often in our vociferous media stream,
I wonder, “Cui bono?” about pressing issues of the day.
Who benefits from spreading fear about immigrants?
Maybe it’s not the migratory humans who benefit from a
Much-touted “crisis at the U.S. border.” New arrivals
Anywhere rarely fare well at first in their next environments,
Whether having fled famines, or political or domestic violence.
Instead, they are often harassed, crowded, derided, treated as pawns.
Could it be that it’s the human predators–the “coyotes” with sky-high fees,
The purveyors of sub-wage work, some opportunistic politicians–
Who trade on everyone’s fears to their benefit? Perhaps they’re
The ones who make a killing, sometimes literally. “Cui bono?”
Who benefits from restrictive reproductive health options?
Maybe it’s not the human infants born into impoverished or dysfunctional
Families. Maybe it’s not the mothers whose health is damaged,
Sometimes beyond repair, through dangerous pregnancies.
Maybe it’s not the badly deformed babies who die just after birth.
Maybe it’s not the single mothers who struggle daily to provide, either.
While I can respect those who believe that life before birth is sacred,
What about life after birth? Could it be that regulating childbearing without due
Consideration of the rights of mothers-to-be is, for some, a strategy for dividing us?
Could it be that some would, for political or economic gain,
Pit women against each other because of our nearly unique ability
To carry life within us? Could it serve to absolve fathers-to-be of
Nearly all responsibility? Perhaps we need to shift focus. “Cui bono?”
We live in an age when much attention is paid to quick results.
Benefits may be measured in “likes” or “shares” according to
Some arbitrary algorithm that changes rankings nearly instantaneously.
Are there benefits that last longer–hours, perhaps, or months, or years,
Or the length of a political term, a decade, even a lifetime? Could it be that
The longer-term consequences of distortions, half-truths, and outright lies
Are harmful to all life? Could it be that unselfish love
Provides the only enduring benefit for all? “Cui bono?”
Jinny's Occasional Poems 