ol' star

a look at some of the injustices within the United States of America,
​a country that is no stranger to deep-rooted, systemic issues, including racism.

to the tune of  “All Star” by Smash Mouth.

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somebody once told me: “America’s so awesome!
without all our wars we’d have no peace.”
on dollar bills and TV, made sure we knew by grade three:
“you’ll be saved by the Pledge of Allegiance!”

well, the wars start coming and they don’t stop coming.
“fed up with kings, made Loyalists go running.
didn’t make sense not to live for us;
Creator of freedom is with ye!
red, White, and blue, true destiny!
ignore the protests and suffering,
the Trail of Tears, all those enslaved,
feed the melting pot and its flame.”

“hey, we’re Americans,
one nation under God!
hey, you’re a citizen,
get your vote on, today,
no suppression or delays.
we’ll bring Earth true tranquility!”

“it’s a young place, some say it’s much older.”
naiveté only makes us look colder.
though the meteor folks beg to differ;
we ignore the hole in the satellite picture.
mythstory: “great, again! we always win!”
“COVID’s still in wave one, so we might as well swim!”
country’s on fire, how ‘bout yours?
“we saved money on healthcare and bought you all swords!”

“hey, we’re Americans,
one nation under God!
hey, you’re a citizen,
get your vote on, today,
ignore any delays.
we’ll bring Earth true tranquility!”

he should be here.
she should be here.
they should be here.
they should be here.

“hey, we’re Americans,
one nation under God!
hey, you’re a citizen,
get your vote on, today,
no suppression, no delays,
oh, tranquility!”

somebody once asked: “do you see what’s happening?
on the streets, TV, fucked game, Monopoly.”
I said: our game's screwed here too,
justice is overdue; we could all use a big change.

well, the deaths start coming and they don’t stop coming.
fed up with the law, Floyd's killers weren't running,
didn’t have sense of humanity.
“cops protect and serve.” exactly who
of us under red, white, and Blue?
burbs' redlining; “keep other away!”
the border wall, all those encaged,
“feed the melting pot and its flame.”

“hey, we’re Americans,
one nation under God!
hey, you’re a citizen,
get your vote on, today,
no suppression or delays.
we’ll bring Earth true tranquility!”

can there be halcyon skies,
o'er purple mountain majesties?

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