Blindfolded, we enter the world.

Eighteen years with only the wisdom of our parents

On our back,

Lacking that which education had promised.

Has promised.

On our future coffee tables lie

Unbalanced checkbooks, post due bills,

Unsurmountable college debt,

Overcharged credit cards, an undercooked meal.

But we can recite who incited the Great War,

Why my poems needn’t rhyme,

Explain the niches of different species.

Life skills are traded for obscure facts that will be forgotten

Instead of self-sufficiency, America breeds homogeneity

Such is Education.

 

“Buy this now! You didn’t know you needed it before!”

On our senses and sensibilities, they’ve waged a war

Their numbers strong, their strategies fierce,

Advertising companies plot and plan ways to pierce

Our defenses, undermine our strength, exploit our fears

We no longer like what we like, we like how it is presented.

Such is Consumerism.

 

America, home of the brave.

America, home of the xenophobes.

A contradiction, yes.

A controversy, no.

We welcome all who wish to immigrate.

But we do not welcome immigrants.

Diversity is valued in this country.

Those of foreign descent must leave, however.

Religious tolerance is a must,

Unless you are Muslim.

Such is Patriotism.

 

One part education reformation.

This adds the flavor to society, producing people not numbers.

Two spoons or less of mental shrewdness.

These fortify the mind from the prying eyes of advertising spies;

They have no interests, save for selling more, dropping lines.

Finally, to open us up, a giant cup

Of love.

Love for those who are not us, love for those who are like us.

Love for those who don’t love us, and love for those who do.

Love that must be taught, and love that must be learned.

Such is the Cure.

 

Let simmer for a generation or two,

And we’ll see the country rise

To the standard our Founders once knew.

A country of Freedom, not bondage to debt.

A country of Security, not unbalanced checks.

A country of Choice, not fish in ad nets.

A country of Acceptance, and soon we’ll expect

A country of Americans, pride pumping in their chests.