I thought I was supposed to get more conservative as I got older and scoff at my foolish, ignorant youth. Isn't that how this is supposed to work? So why is it that this song strikes me as being even more poignant and relevant today than it was 15 years ago? (besides that I was 14 when it came out and definitely did not fully grasp the political complexities contained within the lyrics beyond "YEAH PUNK ROCK ANARCHY WOO DOWN WITH THE GOVERNMENT CORPORATIONS R ST00PIT")
I'd say this song was prophetic, but really, it's more eye-opening to realize how the problems that our country faces today have actually been issues for quite some time now, and have only gotten worse as the years have gone on. Maybe that's a sign that, ya know, it's actually time to do something about extremism, and violence, and corporate abuse, and economic imbalance, and mental health, and so on? Maybe?
I wish I had a schilling
for every senseless killing —
I'd buy a government.
America's for sale
and you can get a good deal on it
and make a healthy profit,
or maybe tear it apart.
Start with assumption
that a million people are smart,
smarter than one.