Wait, you're
doing what? But
How
When
Just a sec
Let me get this straight
Mars?
You want to fund an expedition to Mars
The economy is in shambles
Healthcare and Education
are in the worst condition
they've ever been in
Boys and Girls my age are dying
by the hundreds
for nothing
half a world away

(let me put that in perspective:
500 boys and girls - that's my
Entire high school
Dead
Buried
Gone
not just a single graduating class
no, the Entire high school
lying beneath the ground
in Iraq
executed lost tortured
Dead)

dying for nothing
for worse than nothing:
for Profit - for the profit of your Corporate Friends
for billion dollar contracts with Halliburton

and you want to go to Mars?
you want to build a shrine on the God of War?
at the expense of Hubble -
the most prolific and important single scientific instrument
in the entire history of Humanity?
destroyed for your Cowboy Science?
destroyed for more Big Contracts?
Destroyed like everything else you touch?

No
Goddammit, NO!
America is not your strip-mine!
The people of America do not exist
to make your friends wealthier
The Government of America
The Constitution of America
do not exist for the convenience of oil companies
The US military does not exist
to enforce Globalization and corporate expansion
we the people
We the people
We the People
not You the CEOs
not You the Oil Companies
not You the Defense Contractors
not You the Seekers of Cheap Foreign Labor
not You the Imperialists

This is not the Democracy of Thomas Jefferson
This is not the Democracy of Benjamin Franklin
This is not the Democracy of Walt Whitman
This is not the Democracy of Mark Twain
This is not the Democracy of Abraham Lincoln
This is not the Democracy for which we have fought and Died
This is not the Capitalism of Adam Smith
or the Capitalism of Ayn Rand
For the Government has intervened in favor of the Lazy
The Government has intervened in favor of the Greedy
The Government has intervened in favor of Exploitation
The Government is not working for Us
It is not working for We the People
Do I see it working for We the People?
Has my life improved? Have the lives of my children improved?
Have the lives of my brothers and sisters improved?
Have the lives of my friends improved?
Or are they dying across the ocean in a pointless war?
Is it Freedom they're fighting for? Do I really believe that?
Do I feel more free? Are they more free?
Is this really what Freedom is?
Do I believe Freedom will arrive magically
when Corporations have stolen everything they can steal?

No
This is not Capitalism
We demand Capitalism
This is not Democracy
We demand Democracy
This is not Freedom
We demand Freedom
My friends are not dying for We the People
My friends are not dying for Freedom or even Security
My friends are not dying for the Constitution, that Sacred Document
My friends are dying for Your Wallet
My friends are dying for Your Greed
My friends are dying for Your Strip Mine

01/24/2004

Author's Note: I consider myself a Patriot - I've driven the length and width of this country and I love every inch of it. I love the concept of America, the principles upon which it was founded. I love Democracy and what it means. The Constituion and the Declaration of Independence are works of Genius I could only wish to live up to. I love the people of America, rich and poor. I've met too many amazing, incredible people not to love them. I'm constantly astounded by their ingenuity and grace. That's why I'm so angry.

Posted on 01/25/2004
Copyright © 2024 Gary Hoffmann