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Reflections on patriotism in the USA
By Daniel Patrick Welch
4 July 2007
On the occasion of the anniversary of US independence, Daniel Patrick Welch muses on the state of patriotism in the USA. In a brief jaunt around town, he and his wife note a marked decrease in flags in what they used to call "flag alley". Could it be that ordinary Americans are finally tiring of their warmongering president and political elites? Cities and towns across the country are broke, thanks in no small part to the huge increases in military spending. Welch explores the connections between the two, hoping against hope that no lie can live forever.
I asked my city councilor
If we could a stop light up
I said somebody gonna get killed some day
He said yeah but we can’t pay
City says it’s the state that owns that road
State says no but I don’t know
All I know is someone’s gonna die someday
While they go round and round
Round and round we go in the old money game
But nobody talks about the war
A trillion down the drain and they still can’t explain
What all this fighting is for
The cities got no money ‘cause the states backed up
The states got no money ‘cause the feds backed up
The feds say we got bills to pay
And round and round she goes
But we got money for him and money for me
Just none for your priorities
We’ll blame the poor for being poor
But I ain’t poor, so I’m alright
Round and round we go in the old money game
But nobody talks about the war
A trillion down the drain and they still can’t explain
What all this fighting is for
A trillion here a trillion there
My god there’s money everywhere
Just not for kids and not for trees
So just shut up and pay
Plenty for war but not for peace
And none to fight that awful disease
Besides it mostly hurts the poor
And I ain’t poor, so I’m alright
Round and round we go in the old money game
While Haliburton gobbles up some more
Folks with all the cash sayin’ gee but it’s a shame
Sure wish that we could do more
Round and round we go in the old money game
But nobody talks about the war
A trillion down the drain and they still can’t explain
What all this fighting is for.
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© 2007 Daniel Patrick Welch. Reprint permission granted with credit and link to http://danielpwelch.com. Writer, singer, linguist and activist Daniel Patrick Welch lives and writes in Salem, Massachusetts, with his wife, Julia Nambalirwa-Lugudde. Together they run The Greenhouse School. Translations of articles are available in up to 20 languages. Links to the website are appreciated at http://danielpwelch.com.
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