Sep 27 2008
Blackbird Singin’ the Dead of Night
President Kennedy is the first president I remember. I still remember the somber feeling when my teacher told us he’d been shot and killed. I thought to myself, things will never be the same again. And, in fact, they weren’t. A blackbird singing in the dead of night is like an omen. It makes you shiver with the feeling of premonition. I also wondered, would this be the worst thing to ever happen to our country?
Blackbird singin’ in the dead of night.
The Viet Nam war divided the young and the middle aged and above. Americans were used to feeling proud of their country. They believed we were the best and we made no mistakes. Younger people were confused by all the body bags they saw on the news every night. In those days, the president didn’t get to say that the American people wouldn’t see all of the dead soldiers, like Bush has now. Out of sight, out of mind. He’s right, you know. It’s worked out just peachy. But, in those days we all stood up and raised out voices, raised our fists, “Hell no, we won’t go.” I wondered, would this be the worst thing to ever happen to our country?
Blackbird singin’ in the dead of night.
Finally the war was over. We finished school and joined the establishment. I guess most people forgot about the war, forgot about what it felt like to stand up for what we believed in. I wondered what happened to all of our conviction as I looked around and saw men and women in suits and in meeting rooms at work. I thought long and hard and decided that most of them had been followers - there really were very few leaders. And some of the leaders such as Bob Dylan even denied they were ever leaders. It turned out we were all just sheeple after all. I wondered, would this be the worst thing to ever happen to our country?
Blackbirds singin’ in the dead of night.
I’ve heard whispers from here and there for a good part of my life about the “one world government.” Silly, I thought. People talked about the “frog in the boiling water” theory. Now I’m not so sure and have started thinking about the whole proposition seriously. After all, weren’t we totally bamboozled into the Iraq war? They sold us a bag full of lies all tied up with a red ribbon of fear. Of course that was after the towers were destroyed. How convenient to take the fear and anger we all felt, bottle it into an “I love America” slogan and sell it to us. You haven’t forgotten how many times they changed the reason for the Iraq war, have you? Just slip slidin’ away. Trillions of dollars and who knows how much more it will cost us. Crooks in the Whitehouse. Well, it wasn’t the first time. Surely I thought this is the worst thing to ever happen to our country.
Blackbird singin’ in the dead of night.
Things are starting to crash around us. Rock-solid mega huge banks and investment firms are folding like houses of straw. And Bush, McCain and Obama are selling desperation and fear. We must bail out these companies now or we’ll go right into a depression. Now, the thought of the “one world government” comes to mind again.
*Trillions borrowed for a war we should have never been involved with. In fact, when has it been part of the U.S. way of doing things to go and attach another country when it has not harmed us?
*A housing mortgage crisis that, excuse me, no one saw coming? Very hard to believe. But, those in charge of the mega companies should not have to take any responsibilities. Let’s just bail out their asses and put the American people in billions of dollars more debt.
So, what do you think is coming next. I know it will be something way bigger and badder. I know, because I’ve learned that it’s not the worst thing that can happen to our country.
Blackbird singin’ in the dead of night. Take these broken wings and learn to fly.” Paul McCartney
