A poet friend sent me the enclosed poem as a commentary on the United States today. It was written by Lawrence Ferlinghetti in 2007 after a poem by Khalil Gibran. It prophetically and succinctly says what needs to be said out loud.
For your thoughts
Pity the Nation
By Lawrence Ferlinghetti (After Khalil Gibran)
Pity the nation whose people are sheep
And whose shepherds mislead them
Pity the nation whose leaders are liars
Whose sages are silenced
And whose bigots haunt the airwaves
Pity the nation that raises not its voice
Except to praise conquerors
And acclaim the bully as hero
And aims to rule the world
By force and by torture
Pity the nation that knows
No other language but its own
And no other culture but its own
Pity the nation whose breath is money
And sleeps the sleep of the too well fed
Pity the nation oh pity the people
Who allow their rights to erode
and their freedoms to be washed away
My country, tears of thee
Sweet Land of liberty!