On the Outside

Increasingly, people find themselves on the outside,
Outside of politics,
Outside of religion,
Outside of institutions in general.
And this is because institutions, at their worst,
Demand complete allegiance, complete fidelity.
It is like a marriage. 
But it is not a marriage.
A marriage unites two different but complementary things,
The man one thing,
And the woman something else another. 
And united they are ONE.
Separate, they are bereft.
But the institution, the party, the sect
Is not looking for the thing which it is missing.
It is looking to duplicate itself,
To multiply its narrow intent.
There are many who would embrace certain institutions
If only those institutions would not insist
That their particular views
Must reign.
It is a doctrine of 
"We are right because it's us!"
And where else can you stand 
But on the outside 
When such insanity reigns.