Nice, high-minded concepts.
For sure, being born somewhere else on the planet could have been a really dicey proposition. "So much trouble in the World." - Bob Marley
But you know, it is complicated, and this is a profoundly Imperfect Union. Those high-minded concepts bump against some hard, deadly, soul-killing realities:
Genocide - "Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee"
Racism/White Supremacy - Slavery, Ku Klux Klan, Trump-ism
Wars & Atrocities
Institutional, Societal, Political, Psychological Inequality
Gun-Crazy
Murder Inc.
And the Eternal Con - "A sucker born every minute."
The Hustle
The Sales Pitch
The Scam
The Hoax
The Lie
The Big Lie
The Cheat
We love to sell and to be sold. We love to lie to ourselves and to others. And, remember all those fireworks are made in China. Cheap thrills: Gunpowder, Smoke, Razzle-Dazzle and BOOM! That's America, Baby!
The A.M. Soundtrack - Wilco's "Yankee Foxtrot Hotel" (2001) - Great early Wilco record. Great American Band.
The cash machine is blue and green
For a hundred in twenties and a small service fee
I could spend three dollars and sixty-three cents
On Diet Coca-Cola and unlit cigarettes
I wonder why we listen to poets when nobody gives a fuck
How hot and sorrowful, this machine begs for luck
All my lies are always wishes
I know I would die if I could come back new
We want a good life with a nose for things
The fresh wind and bright sky to enjoy my suffering
A hole without a key if I break my tongue
Speaking of tomorrow, how will it ever come?
All my lies are always wishes
I know I would die if I could come back new
I'm down on my hands and knees
Every time a doorbell rings
I shake like a toothache
When I hear myself sing
All my lies are only wishes
I know I would die if I could come back new
I would like to salute
The ashes of American flags
And all the fallen leaves
Filling up shopping bags
- Jeff Tweedy & Jay Bennett