— from Jens Kruse —
Pity The Nation — by Lawrence Ferlinghetti
Pity the nation whose people are sheep,
and whose shepherds mislead them.
Pity the nation whose leaders are liars, whose sages are silenced,
and whose bigots haunt the airwaves.
Pity the nation that raises not its voice,
except to praise conquerors and acclaim the bully as hero
and aims to rule the world with force and by torture.
Pity the nation that knows no other language but its own
and no other culture but its own.
Pity the nation whose breath is money
and sleeps the sleep of the too well fed.
Pity the nation — oh, pity the people who allow their rights to erode
and their freedoms to be washed away.
My country, tears of thee, sweet land of liberty.
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100-year-old Lawrence Ferlinghetti wrote this poem 13 years ago in 2007. It is just as applicable now, if not moreso, than it was then. Let’s work to make it so that in the future, this poem no longer applies. Thank you for this, Jens.
I especially like the lines “Pity the nation whose liars are leaders . . .” and “Pity the nation that . . . acclaim(s) the bully as hero.” Relevant today.
Thanks for posting this, Jens. I love his poetry and hearing him read. So prophetic, so timely. I wonder when he wrote this. (Been thinking a lot about how reminiscent of the McCarthy era these times are; only worse.)
oops. I see that David Turnoy answered this. 2007. Right before the next “crash” and subsequent real estate land grab.