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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region Forums"Pity the Nation"--------------pass gently, Lawrence
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.
--- by LAWRENCE FERLINGHETTI
This seems appropriate reading for several reasons.
Hekate
(90,645 posts)ChubbyStar
(3,191 posts)Cross sweetly Lawrence Ferlinghetti
lillypaddle
(9,580 posts)Where have I been all these years? Thanks for posting, Atticus.
chocolatpi
(7,888 posts)Karadeniz
(22,510 posts)Delphinus
(11,830 posts)for this.
I had never heard of Lawrence Ferlinghetti or the poem - says so very much.
Mr. Steve
(114 posts)Few words but they convey volumes.
iluvtennis
(19,850 posts)BlueNProud
(1,048 posts)DemoTex
(25,393 posts)Last edited Tue Feb 23, 2021, 09:48 PM - Edit history (1)
RIP Gentle Soul. You always gave, and seldom took. We are better because of you. Say hello to Jack and Philip .. and Allen and all the rest of the cats. Snyder still maintains, at 91, and the Beat goes on.
housecat
(3,121 posts)Brings back memories of a past lifetime. And as Dylan wrote "But I was so much older then; I'm younger than that now." Yes LF RIP
ewagner
(18,964 posts)Only if we pick up the drum DemoTex....
TNNurse
(6,926 posts)did not go to a liberal arts college in the 60s and 70s. A Coney Island of the Mind was essential.
mountain grammy
(26,619 posts)One of the best. 101, he had a good run. Rest In Peace while the rest of us wait for the rebirth of wonder.
KY_EnviroGuy
(14,490 posts)"Pity the Republicans"*
Pity the Republicans whose people are sheep,
and whose shepherds mislead them.
Pity the Republicans whose leaders are liars, whose sages are silenced,
and whose bigots haunt the airwaves.
Pity the Republican that raises not her/his voice,
except to praise conquerors and acclaim the bully as hero
and aims to rule the world with force and by torture.
Pity the Republicans that know no other language but their own
and no other culture but their own.
Pity the Republicans whose breath is money
and sleeps the sleep of the too well fed.
Pity the Republicans 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.
* With due credit to Lawrence Ferlinghetti
---------------
Thanks for posting this work, Atticus. It speaks volumes to the divided condition of our nation today in just a few lines of prose.
For those who want to know more about Mr. Ferlinghetti, see: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lawrence_Ferlinghetti
He was 101 years old at his passing, RIP...... Truly a quiet hero of America.
KY..........
Kid Berwyn
(14,878 posts)During World War 2, he commanded sub chasers for the United States Navy.
And like his life, his art was sublime.
orangecrush
(19,537 posts)byronius
(7,394 posts)CaptainTruth
(6,588 posts)live love laugh
(13,100 posts)burrowowl
(17,639 posts)Very appropriate reading, indeed.
Raine
(30,540 posts)struggle4progress
(118,280 posts)I have heard the Gettysburg Address
and the Ginsberg Address.
I like it here
and I wont go back
where I came from.
I too have ridden boxcars boxcars boxcars.
I have travelled among unknown men ..."
Autobiography
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/42870/autobiography-56d221842ab9d
dmr
(28,347 posts)I want to learn more of Mr. Lawrence Ferlinghetti
lark
(23,094 posts)Well written, sir, well written!
llashram
(6,265 posts)peace
StClone
(11,683 posts)Bitingly accurate for today and back as far as 1990 for me.
Turin_C3PO
(13,964 posts)StClone
(11,683 posts)Atticus
(15,124 posts)BobTheSubgenius
(11,563 posts)but if you were paying attention....
Lawrence always paid attention. At least, everything he published.
RIP to a poet who stood tall.