Zegota Open Disobedience Bold Resistance
I beg defiance of all oppressive states I beg defiance
for all those kept in line It's time to rearrange all
forces that try to contain
They've always justified power struggles while helpless
die
Six million Jews, they call it genocide One hundred
million Native Americans, what an unfortunate price
What about the culture in the hills,
Tibetan people brutally killed Land of the free is that
what you like to see
America's "immigrants" compared to disease Mahogany
considered luxury While Brazilian tribes are being
brought to their knees We fuel the oppression The blood
is on our hands Compassion is sacrificed for ignorance
That's the price we pay for convenience
The enemy is everywhere. It's in the gas we pump (duh,
we already know automobiles and petroleum companies
aren't making any positive contributions to the
environment), in the soda we drink (good ole' pepsi
spent quite a bit of time supporting the military
dictatorship of Burma), and in any pre-packaged product
we consume (that fancy, plastic wrapping ain't
magically wrapping other items; it's filling up the
landfills, maybe to biodegrade within the next thousand
years). Of course we know this list goes on and on and
on...
Perhaps more important than writing letters to f..cking
dumb ass profit-minded businessmen and leaving
answering machine messages for self-seeking
congressmen, is the realization that everything is
political; every action we take has political
consequences. This means that what kind of shoes I buy,
what kind of food I eat, and what kind of job I have
all come with political consequences. The trouble is
recognizing this connection; because, often, thousands
of miles separate the cause from the effect. At first
glance, it doesn't seem like my personal decision to
drive an automobile would have anything to do with a
residential neighborhood in the town Aleksinac, Serbia.
But I pay property tax on that automobile and the
American government uses that money (without consulting
me first, I might add) to build and deliver an air bomb
that reduced Aleksinac to a pile of rubble. Identifying
these many connections and developing ways to deal with
them is the essence of political change.
I do whatever possible, whenever possible not to
finance those motherfuckers. I shoplift, not only to
strike a small (probably minuscule) blow against
everything f..cked up with big business, but also to
make sure I'm not going to have to spend as many hours
of my life at some shit job to support the things I
loathe. Becoming thrifty and losing the desire to own
ten thousand superfluous products also plays an
integral role. You know, shopping at thrift stores and
yard sales, not only for great bargains, but also for
the purpose of recycling, are small ways we can change
the way we live that will produce more agreeable
political consequences. So much great stuff is thrown
away before we take advantage of its complete
potential. We can also utilize our friendships in our
community. Openly sharing with one another is not only
a chance to be courteous with one another, but also an
opportunity not to spend money on the same things,
reducing consumption and the eventual waste from
another goddamn garden shovel or washing machine.
Even if the little ways we change our lives does not
produce immediate results (one less piece of furniture
sold is not enough to convince Georgia Pacific to end
their destruction of South American rainforest), there
is another reason. Even if I can't change the entire
world into what I want it in one afternoon, I know that
I can change my entire world. Maybe my decision to
never drink coffee will not bring peace to Latin
America right away, but that same decision can bring a
small fragment of special light and warmth into a cold
and dark world. That fragment of light and warmth is
what this song is about.