That’s My America

Sweet little ladies
Arrogant young bucks
Crusty old cowboys
In their rusty pickup trucks

That’s my America
Land of the brave and home of the free
They don’t always look like you my friend
And they don’t always think like me

Lily white preppy
Cool black dude
Average working Joe
With a “can-do” attitude

That’s my America
Land of the brave and home of the free
They don’t always look like you my friend
And they don’t always think like me

Committed gays and lesbians
Dedicated straights
Folks living in the ghetto
Folks living behind gates

That’s my America
Land of the brave and home of the free
They don’t always look like you my friend
And they don’t always think like me

Egghead intellectuals
Bulbs that barely light
Some lean way to the left
And some only lean right

That’s my America
Land of the brave and home of the free
They don’t always look like you my friend
And they don’t always think like me

Some are bound for heaven
Some are bent on hell
The thing is from the outside
It’s awfully hard to tell

People that have money
Some never have enough
Those that glide unscathed through life
Folks that have it tough

That’s my America
Land of the brave and home of the free
They don’t always look like you my friend
And they don’t always think like me

Some say we need more government
Others insist on less
The one thing we agree on is
We’re really in a mess

That’s my America
Land of the brave and home of the free
They don’t always look like you my friend
And they don’t always think like me

It seems that “We the People”
Are incredibly diverse
And things could be much better
But they sure could be much worse

That’s my America
Land of the brave and home of the free
They don’t always look like you my friend
And they don’t always think like me

Snug as a Bug

Snug as a bug in my proverbial rug
Why would I ever leave
Smugly considering those bugs whose rugs
Are of a different weave

There are bugs whose rugs are richer
And some have rugs that are threadbare
Multi- or mono-chromatic
Some made in haste—some with care

Some bugs, it seems, have no taste
Or their rugs would look more like mine
And some of those bugs think they’re better than me
Because their rugs are so fine

Some bugs have crawled over others
In pursuit of the ultimate rug
And others have barely escaped from the mud
And the holes in which they once dug

In the chill of December, I sometimes remember
There are bugs that have no rugs at all
And I’m forced to review what I thought I knew
‘Cause a big bug is still pretty small

Straw Man

I’m gonna make a straw man
A striking effigy
He might look a little bit like you
But he sure as hell won’t look like me

I’m gonna give him characteristics
Traits that I despise
So that when I criticize him
I’ll be right in my own eyes

I’m gonna build a straw man
Gonna make him ten feet high
Built from half truths and innuendo
And then I’ll throw in just a little lie

We’ve made a nation full of straw men
Built on fears that dwell within
And when we argue with our straw men
We always seem to win

It’s time to tear down the straw men
And scatter them to the wind
Time to face our real enemies
And acknowledge our dark sin

So please ignore the straw men
And don’t believe every quote
Make your choice and raise your voice
And use your conscience when you vote