Thought Provoking

Your heart is filled with truth
The people's minds are filled with certainty
You're elected to office to represent the people who voted unanimously

After some weeks in office
An issue comes across your desktop
The people stand behind you, you'll do the right thing, unless you get bought

You know where you came from
But the money looks so great
Just this once you'll take the contribution and vow not to do it again

Corruption through osmosis
Victim of environment
How can we rid corruption in office when it's so prevalent

Once you've started down the path
You'll see there's no turning back
But you're not to blame when it's the entire system that needs to be put in check

Corruption through osmosis
Spread throughout our democracy
The plague is so rampant that i wonder why we're considered such a pristine country

Citizen of the world!
I hear your rants of yesterday
Echo in my head
As they need to apply today

Oh Forgotten Father,
It makes me want to cry
I see how you changed things
And how it's all gone awry

Everyone doubts the doubting man
If you can trust the ones
Who seem to know it all
Then what's the point of trying?

Oh Forgotten Father,
It makes me want to cry
I see how you changed things
And how it's all gone awry

Your thoughts of yesterday
Still linger in this world
But will you be remembered
As the one who sacrificed it all?

I look back now on a extinct breed
A civilization known as humanity
A shameful race when they all died
All you can say is that they tried

They had it fine till they grew a brain
Earth wasn't ready for a drastic change
What they had, was too much pride
All you can say is that they tried

A competitive group, they learned to kill
This creation of man was destined to fail
Those who conquered, spread their lies
All you can say is that they tried

Many were blind, they could not see
They were nothing more than an effigy
In the end it was hate and spite
All you can say is that they tried

If they had it all, to do again
I do not think that man would win

i roll down my window
flick my butt outside
exhale my last drag
and think about my drive

where am i headed
what path should i take
no matter my decision
it will be a mistake

the world is my ashtray
and i'm leading it astray
no concern from me
just living day to day

problems of our world
have become beyond complex
i can't deal with them all
but i do my best

i flick another problem
on to the paved road
turn into the backed up lane
lazy street i chose

the world is my ashtray
and i'm leading it astray
no concern from me
just living day to day

i don't think i'll make a difference
i'll make no impact at all
i'll continue driving down this path
and that will be my fall

argumentative discussions
of who's wrong who's right
masses of mindless followers
joining a hopeless fight

what are you fighting for,
do you really know?
you've been caught
in society's undertow
don't let it bring you down,
don't let it interfere
step back and take
a good look in the mirror

you "fight for freedom"
like you're GI Joe
you're fighting for causes
you don't even know
you're so hung up
on your self righteousness
you think you know
what's best for us

well now it's time for
my party to take it's stand
it's about time you know
that we don't give a damn
it's obvious to us
that you don't have a clue

just because i think the world is going to shit
doesn't mean that i'm not a likable guy
just because i wanna legalize suicide
doesn't mean i want anyone to die

i like to think i'm a sane, happy pessimist
enjoying my stay while it lasts
you can't overlook my negative nature
i don't wear happiness like a mask

subtly cruel when i speak of life
and utter sarcasm with a mild grin
i beg you, don't be frightened,
i'm telling you it's just how i am

i enjoy your negative feelings
but i would rather see you smile
i'm not waiting for global extinction
i still think we have a while

i like to think i'm a sane, happy pessimist
enjoying my stay while i last
always worried about overpopulation
when will we learn from our past

you won't find me weeping
or waiting for the end of time
i've learned i can still be happy
because happiness is in your mind

a war makes a beast
of men once with faith
another politician climbs a ladder
and pulls it up without haste
the charities give to power
while the children go to waste
and a leader with pride
joins the munitions race

a child of divorce
feels even less of worth
a sixteen year old mom
gives yet another birth
tax kills a widow
who grapples with dearth
cancer continues,
while we're cancer to Earth

industry claims
to help common man
but seem to help only those
who put cash in their hands
a survivalist fights back
and no one understands
a flag burns in the distance
un-united we stand

a prison overcrowds
released are many
but only the ones
who've saved a pretty penny
the innocent cry
only to lose their sanity
unfair is justice
more faith grows empty


is there anything to sacrifice
anything at all
something to erode
this self-mending wall
standing around
we let it grow tall
and listen to the echo
when help is called

the mornings of happiness
end with nights of sorrow
holding on to the hope
that there will be a tomorrow
but as humans rape more
their hearts become hollow
and the earth died with thought
our species just follow

there is no better feeling
than knowing the presence of self-control
in touch with yourself
dictating life the way you want

so many out there today
more tomorrow
and more to follow
relying on crutches
alcohol, video games, drugs, religion
mind-altering, psuedo-secure forms of entertainment and belief
grasping to the quickest and easiest thing to clutch to

the external authority of
nicotine-rich television
and pornographic fantasies
of touching the hand of god
raping the human spirit
destroying the happiness we all could know
within ourselves

the apathy of not helping out
another member of the human family
but why should you help someone
who does not hold themselves responsible
for their own actions
a vicious circle of disappointment
which always starts and ends with you

faced daily with minor decisions
minuscule details of what makes the future
and how it will personally effect you
but when was the last time
someone stopped and took an objective look at themselves
inside, everyone knows their own faults
the true fault is to ignore them

wide-eyed lantern light like Diogenes
please, there isn't an honest man in
this land to be seen
lying has become the norm' causin a storm
of untrust, mistrust, disgust the truth
that i seek from the bleak future that lies ahead
are you being spoon-fed what to think?
let me tell you what free will means to me

the knowledge to know the wrong from right
though most can't quite get it, they copy
what the see on tv, shit that makes no sense to me

flavor of the month in the latest rap video
rich kids talking about what it's like in the ghetto,
as if living in fear of getting shot
is cool, breakin all the rules, talkin all the
shit about how you're down with old school
using the latest slang like you're original
your dumb ass can't even be an individual
you got your pants at your knees, a pager and a cell phone
packin a nine in the suburbs talkin about being blown away?
what's the matter with the kids today?
ignorance glorified in such a light so i might think it's hip
why do we need this?

rat-tat-tat out of the black bap-bap-bap three shots rang back
back to sleep, it's just the kids playin in the street
talkin their slang -- just playin a game
they'll all grow up some day.

i don't believe in any pride
other than personal pride
and belief in oneself

pride for a sports team
pride for your race
pride for your religion or party
to stick in another group's face

pride promotes prejudice
which leads to problems of hate
pride promotes superiority
which degrades the way we think

if your goal is for well-being and equality
why do you set yourselves apart
you're not helping anyone's situation
just dividing our species into parts

so before you fly your flag
or march in your parade
think of how you segregate yourself
because having pride will not create change

it started in elementary school
where he learned to color inside the lines
he really liked the playground
and was too restless for nap time

junior high was hard on him
his hormones were kicking and he didn't fit in
he was told he was being prepared for high school
he colored the world map with colored pens

in high school he gained a social life
and he made a lot of friends
his teachers told him his generation is lazy
we'll never know how that effected him

college was a shock to johnny
for the first time he lived on his own
his professors expected him to know what hadn't been taught
and he'll spend years paying off that loan

grade school didn't prepare him
for all the things he'd have to do
but once he graduated and put in his time
those pointless assignments were through

he had his framed college degree
and he applied for work
but all of the good jobs wanted experience
so he had to settle as a clerk

if there's one thing johnny learned
from going through the system
it was how to function with
the other children who turned out like him

the greatest lies
and excuses of our time
come from the minds
of those who try
to persuade you and i
that the tasks they're behind
are the selfless kind

and no one can see
they've said the same previously
it's all to help our progeny
or to benefit society
and no matter how greedy
or unjust it may be
they say it convincingly

the opposing are spurned
and they patriotically burn
and since we can't discern
what we haven't learned
i wonder, do we really deserve
another chance or turn?

i hope i never start living for the weekend
only to see it turn into a monday morning
i hope i never compete with my neighbors
to buy things i cannot really afford
i hope if i ever get married
i won't refer to my spouse as a ball and chain
i hope my life never revolves around
so-called entertainment like monday night football
because i don't want to be that family

i hope i never start living for the weekend
and calling in sick so i don't have to go to work
i hope i don't ever assume that others think just like me
and get caught up in my own idealism
i hope watching the dog chase the neighbors cat
doesn't become the highlight of my day
i hope my evenings don't revolve around tittie bars
and hot wings to keep me out of the house
because i don't want to be that guy

i hope i never start living for the weekend
and forget how to relax
i hope i don't get stuck in a job i hate
and do nothing about the situation but complain
i hope if things don't work out
i can handle the situation
i hope i don't end up like all those people
who let their lives pass them by
because i don't want to live for the weekend

you wasted four years of your life
studying how others think and behave
and yet you still wonder
"why do some people see it that way?"

whether you have conservative constipation
or are stuck with bleeding heart disease
you have a case of the
"why doesn't everyone think like me"s

socio-psycho-poli-mythology
you're just as dogmatic as the ones you oppose
you've given up reason for idealism
and your mind is starting to decompose

"why doesn't everyone think like me"
if we did, it would be a boring place
what happened to celebrating diversity
no one wants your psuedo-master race