Pete Blanchard: ‘I Hold the Burden of Privilege’
Photo by Geri Silver
I hold the burden of privilege
A seed that my white ancestors planted
What do I know about the ghetto?
The struggles of so many cannot be seen out my window
I come from the land of dairy farms and green meadows
Where racist white God-fearing Christians roam free
And Fox News rules the TV
These people are happy, content in a paradise of close-mindedness
A gated community no longer needs walls
To be apart from it all
Is this what our forefathers dreamed?
A country so manipulated by think tanks and plasma screens
It makes a man want to scream
Do we use social media or does it use us?
Our lives wrapped around what our friends discuss
Our privacy’s been cooked
Our faces have been booked
Our rights are overlooked
My space has been took
The work of the C.I.A.
Is now carried out by Google
Searches and seizures
Available at your leisure
We are easily distracted.
We are no longer theoretic, but anesthetic
Fucked up and too far gone, we forget it
Mediacracy has hindered our ability to analyze
And see beyond the hype, half-truths and whole lies.
They transmit fear 24 hours a day
They don’t sleep, so how can I?
Fox News just gives me the blues
Glenn Beck, we will not fall for your rouse!
Your chalkboard is caked in fallacies, conspiracies and false clues
The truth will prevail, in the end you will lose.
Global warming should be public schooling,
But they changed the name to “climate change” to rearrange the ruling.
Television is passive, the Internet is too massive
Knowledge is power? Nah, it’s plastic.
I may sound spastic, bombastic, or over-reactive
But my message, you’ll see, is truly elastic
We watch Glee to forget about misery
The Jersey Shore to forget about war
MTV to forget about poverty
Modern Family to forget about family
These aren’t just simple distractions, oh no
These are mind contradictions, knowledge subtractions
Television cult factions which then lead to inaction
By avoiding the problem, we amplify it
Instead of speaking out, we keep quiet
Wouldn’t want to start a riot
Nah, fuck that shit, man.
I’m ready tonight!
Let’s do it, the time is right
No more weekly meetings, no more discussions
No more fundraisers, no more disruptions
No more lectures, no more presentations
No more open mic nights, it’s time to fight
Can’t you see we’re just preaching to the choir?
Let’s make these bastards stand trial.
Make ‘em reconcile our role in the world
Take the money from the banks and give it back to the poor
Use our power for good instead of 2 endless wars
I mean what are we fighting for?
It’s time to wake up, answer the call
Take to the streets, see the writing on the wall
Some say it’s just words and that’s all
But it takes a mic and a voice to make the empire fall