Romanovsky & Phillips One Of The Enemy
(This song was suggested to me by a high school teacher who said that being unable to defend homosexuality makes him feel like he is "one of the oppressors" in the eyes of his gay and lesbian students. the enemy is everyone, gay or straight, who passively supports oppression by their silence.) Every day I go to work I'm there to teach integrity But how can I teach anything With a closet door in front of me 'Cause when I look out at the faces One or two see through the lies And when I look right back at them I see the pain of my own youth in their eyes And it breaks my heart And it makes me feel ashamed to wear this mask Each day from 8 to 3 I can't reach out To the ones who need a friend So I must pretend to be One of the enemy Every year a hundred faces Staring blindly up at me How I want to tell the truth Instead of teaching history But for job security I don't dare say a word And so my good intentions fade And my thoughts of love are left unheard And it hurts my pride And I hate to have to hide myself away Each day from 8 to 3 I can't reach out To the ones who need a friend So I must pretend to be One of the enemy To the boys who leave the girls behind To the girls with more than boyfriends On their minds I can't reach out To the ones who need a friend So I must pretend to be I must pretend Maybe someday I'll find a way (Some day soon I'll find a way) To comfort them (to calm their fears) And let them know that things will change If they can make it through these years
