For What it is worth - Buffalo Springfield
For What its Worth
Buffalo Springfield
There's something happening here
What it is ain't exactly clear
There's a man with a gun over there
I think it's time we stop, children, what's that sound
Everybody look what's going down
There's battle lines being drawn
Nobody's right if everybody's wrong
Young people speaking their minds
Getting so much resistance from behind
I think it's time we stop, hey, what's that sound
Everybody look what's going down
What a field-day for the heat
A thousand people in the street
Singing songs and carrying signs
Mostly say, hooray for our side
It's time we stop, hey, what's that sound
Everybody look what's going down
Paranoia strikes deep
Into your life it will creep
It starts when you're always afraid
You step out of line, the man come and take you away
We better stop, hey, what's that sound
Everybody look what's going down
Stop, hey, what's that sound
Everybody look what's going down
Stop, now, what's that sound
Everybody look what's going down
Stop, children, what's that sound
Everybody look what's going down
Buffalo Springfield
There's something happening here
What it is ain't exactly clear
There's a man with a gun over there
I think it's time we stop, children, what's that sound
Everybody look what's going down
There's battle lines being drawnNobody's right if everybody's wrong
Young people speaking their minds
Getting so much resistance from behind
I think it's time we stop, hey, what's that sound
Everybody look what's going down
What a field-day for the heat
A thousand people in the street
Singing songs and carrying signs
Mostly say, hooray for our side
It's time we stop, hey, what's that sound
Everybody look what's going down
Paranoia strikes deepInto your life it will creep
It starts when you're always afraid
You step out of line, the man come and take you away
We better stop, hey, what's that sound
Everybody look what's going down
Stop, hey, what's that sound
Everybody look what's going down
Stop, now, what's that sound
Everybody look what's going down
Stop, children, what's that sound
Everybody look what's going down
Labels: Music, Social Justice
posted by The Voice @ 8:32 AM
4 Comments:
Paranoia all right. I think it's fundamentally fear, a sense of personal threat, exaggeratedly egocentric, that's at the root of all bigotry. If we let immigrants in we'll lose our jobs, the whole nation will forget how to speak English. Unless we outlaw gay marriage, families are in danger - our children will all want to be gay too (???)
I really don't get this stuff at a gut level. But it sure does exist.
Joe, as you know my blog's mainly about religion, but what I just posted is an exception - it's more political. I really think - in fact, I guarantee! - you'll get a kick out of it because you follow politics even more than I do and will get all the allusions. I'm still getting a kick out of it myself, and don't know how I managed to write the thing!
Don't you find it curious that this is the issue that gets the "pissed off middle class" out into the streets? Nothing else, not health care, war, or natural disasters seemed to get them out on the front lines. The protests have been left to the "usual suspects" with the usual side (Left) and take on things until the immigration debate. That is why it will all get pushed through eventually, it is the only thing that woke up the silent majority
darius,
I cannot explain it - I think your post on the blog was outstanding - I knew you had it in you.
Joe,
"Amazed," "appalled," "disappointed" are just a few words I can use as my reaction to the American public. I am not certain where or how we became such an insensitive and apathetic people but, the way I see it is we get the government we deserve - what we are willing to put up with. It may well be that the only motivator for Americans currently is their pocket book. Nothing moves them toward action more.
I agree with Dubya; we are a dumbed-down nation. As long as we fail to educate our young in critical thinking skills we are going to be turning out technically proficient but classically illiterate people from our universities.
Now that is depressing notion to ponder; 'higher' education is not worth the paper it is certified on. To that end, our post-high school graduates are for the most part technologically adept and nothing more. It makes sense that the ‘degreed’ ought to represent those who haven't the education or skill to question the recent onslaught of challenges to Democracy. Yet, by and large, such is simply not the case. Our educated elites either do not care to think critically or they are ignorant and thus, don’t know any better - so nowadays, being ‘educated’ grants college graduates license to be smugly ignorant. The notion that our nation’s colleges and universities are turning out academics is nothing more that a romanticized conclusion because ‘educated’ people simply would not be so easily manipulated into turning their attention away from Human suffering, the environment and, most of all injustice across the board. We are indeed a selfish nation. We need look no further than our current administration and the politicians associated with them who hold all the power in our government today.
At least in America, humane treatment of prisoners, the environment, the less fortunate etc. remains secondary owing to fear and paranoia stemming from lack of education.
The philosopher George Santayana maintained that those who so not know their history are doomed to repeat it. I would take it one step further; those who do know it can and will use it to their own advantage as well. I can only conclude that those in the Whitehouse and the neo-cons in particular seem to be the only current students of history because, their literal “cut & paste” of manipulative techniques mastered by Hitler’s Fascist regime is working very well for them today. While they come off as a bunch of hicks and bumpkins, they are cunning and manipulative. They appeal to “mom and apple pie” types.
I will grant Dubya and company this much, they are intelligent but they are also greedy as well. Greed coupled with intelligence is a dangerous mix - especially when there is no more vision than that necessary for those who are in power to retain their strangle-hold on control.
Near as I can tell, fear and loathing are arch rivals to love and compassion yet, F&L is popular more than ever. We need look no further than the widely popular faux ‘news’ cable networks and the pundits spewing their hatred and lies these days.
In a nation with arguably the finest universities on the planet, I find it ironic that those intellectually dishonest charlatans are capable of foisting their opinions on the American public as ‘fact’ are the very people who are able to sway opinion – the very people who need to be run out of town because of their asinine drivel.
Again, it only supports my contention that the majority of Americans are easily manipulated because they are not only blissfully ignorant; they are quite content with being intellectually lazy. Such a combination can only mean one thing, wholesale acceptance of bullshit as long as God and Country are delivered in the message as well. That is why a faux news pundit like Bill O’Reilly or Viagra-crazed druggie, Rush Limbaugh would incite American popular opinion to the question “WWJD [What Would Jesus Do] if he was kicked in the balls?” by responding that he’d [Jesus] would smote the motherfucker and they would come across as believable! Well we all know Jesus would definitely smote the guy if he was queer or crossing the border illegally – that goes without saying.
Yes indeed Joe, nothing seems to have been able to motivate Americans to get off their duffs and speak out for change - not even injustice.
Sadly, speaking out may never happen until it is too late - kind of like the frog in a pot of water with the temperature steadily increasing; there he remains until he boils to death – all the while oblivious to his fate right to the end.
J
yes indeed well said, but I think that is why I (at least) sort of dropped out of poolitical stuff. I went from real far left to real far right in my life and now I'm just a pissed off Libertarian hermit politically because no matter who is in charge next election the same things need to be done to "un-screw" the problems and I fear that the partisan anger is so deep now it will F*** up anybody who takes hold of the tail of this war or this immigration debate and tries to actually sove something
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