I know you don't mean it

If you saw the smiles
could you say
the things you do?

Quote, "Nuke the country
make it a parkin lot
we can show'em
Democracy
by buildin
wal-marts!"

Well, I love to break it to you

they have
their own
stores too

sometimes it rains
sometimes it snows
sometimes the skys
are blue

They even have farmers
working their fields
I've been there
I know it's true

One time,
I approached
the mountains
to wash off
in a snowy spring

it reminded me
of Arkansas:

mountains - without the green

I know you speak
from ignorance
your words
you can't understand

The beauty of life is everywhere

even in
Afghanistan

support the troops

"we just Need to support the troops"
is what they tell me

well, this is from a troop
so listen carefully

what we Need are teachers who understand the history of this country
what we Need is a decent living wage, so people aint cold and hungry
what we Need is bicycle infrastructure spanning this beauteous nation
what we Need are more trees and less playstations
what we Need is a justice system that seeks the truth
what we Need are more books and less boots

what 
we
Need

is love

for every woman and man
from southern Louisiana
to the mountains of Afghanistan



Now, it's true
The troops need support

-the support to come home

they need treatment and jobs and love for the soul

see,
war ain't no good
for the human condition
I lost a piece of who I was
on every single mission
and I'm tellin you,
don't thank me for what I've done


give me a big hug
and let me know

we're not gonna let this happen again

because we support the troops
and we're gonna bring these wars to an end

Who's the enemy?

 

this is for my battle buddy, Cooper, who in basic training

lay on the floor in a pool of his own blood

teeth missing, eyes swollen shut

I could see the boot prints on his face

beat for bein black, beat for his race

this is for G-force

the brick house jumpmaster, paratroopin disaster 

Maaan, he could sing!

and make everyone laugh

but they called him names when he turned his back

see, G took care of me and I trusted him for that 

he taught me how to fly, how to pull the trigger

and no afghani ever called him nigger

this is for the Vietnam Vet

who told me he didn't fear the death he might meet

because of his skin color, 

he already worried about bein strung up

just for walkin down his own street

we were told the military would teach us 

how to share our freedom

but what we learned was a new level of hate.

when we weren't training to kill people with turbans 

we were conditioned to hate our sisters and brothers

foreign, domestic, and urban 

this institution thrives on hate:

there was a swastika brand on the chest

of my first army roommate.  

he told me uncle sam didn’t care

but I couldn’t help but stare

at the absurdity of a man

wearing an arrowhead patch 

representing the spirit of the Native Americans 

crowned with a U.S. flag, on a blouse 

encasing a chest

branded with a symbol of hate 

this uniform supposedly defeated?

I’ve got news for you America

the enemy isn't in the Middle East

or Africa or Asia or Central and South America

It’s within you 

and it’s within me

It’s the institution of hate

that keeps people from bein free.