To my liberal friends — both of you — don't you think 60+ years of the same template is enough already? It was one thing for inveterate Civil Rights marchers to inspire a nation while facing the police batons, fire hoses, and dogs of Birmingham's racist Democrat commissioner, Bull Connor, while bravely singing "Freedom" and "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot." It's quite another thing for a conglomerate of wealthy political fossils to persecute us with this endless chanting and "singing" in an effort to conceal how much money they and their bureaucratic accomplices have ripped off from the American taxpayer.
It's traumatic enough to learn that $20 million of our earnings went to produce a new Sesame Street show in Iraq, $10 million to feed an Al-Qeada terrorist group, or $8.3 million for equity and inclusion education initiatives in Nepal. Must we also endure the spectacle of these doddering relics screeching against the sunlight of public disclosure as we see the receipts of $7.9 million for a project to teach Sri Lankan journalists to avoid using binary-gendered language?
They lacerated the song, "Which Side Are You On?" which actually dates back to 1931 and the struggle between coal miners and the mine owners in Harlan County, Kentucky. Written by Florence Reese, wife of union leader Sam Reese, after the local sheriff illegally entered her home and terrorized her family while searching for her husband, the song strikes a somber chord that resonates in the hearts of anyone who has gotten their hands dirty or risked life and limb in service to others.
"Which Side Are You On?" used the melody of the old Baptist hymn, "Lay the Lilly Low." However, given the current desecration of the song by multimillionaire politicians, it might as well be called "Squeeze the Lilly Dry," "Beat the Dead Horse," or "Show Me the Money." The salary for a U.S. senator or congressman currently stands at $174,000 annually. They are bestowed with the designation "The Honorable." They take an oath of fidelity to the Constitution. They bray and bellow till the cows come home about being good stewards of the taxpayers' money. And yet:
- Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) has an estimated net worth of $81 million.
- Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass., Cherokee Nation) has an estimated net worth of $12 million.
- Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) has an estimated net worth of $9 million.
- Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) has an estimated net worth of $9 million.
- Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif., the Moon) has an estimated worth of $270 million.
- Sen. Bernie Sanders (D-Vt.) has an estimated worth of $15 million.
Uh, I have a couple of questions. How does one accumulate that kind of wealth during an ostensible career in "public service," as distinguished from servicing the public? Answer that question, and you'll know precisely why Elizabeth Warren is out beating the tom-toms and leading the others in protests.
Second question: Do you think maybe a sliver of the millions these crooks have raked in on the public's dime could have gone to singing lessons? I'm sure each of these sinecures can tell us of the many struggles they have overcome to reach the pinnacle of power, but none of those obstacles were apparently as daunting as a collection of musical notes.
Related: Americans Are, Quite Simply, Over Woke Everything
Well, let it go. They couldn't carry a tune even if it came with handles, but it's not their fault. They can't help sounding like a choir of nursing home escapees. But perhaps they could come up with a few new ideas that wouldn't have the rest of us trying to drive a railroad spike through our ears. Why not a GoFundMe page to "Keep the Gravy Train Rolling?" Why not hire some jazz trumpet players to reenact the Battle of Jericho? At least the music would be better. I think it was Dave Barry who suggested that politicians should wear NASCAR jumpsuits featuring the logos of the lobbyists and special interests who bought them. Better yet, why not start a GoFundMe page with a goal of however much money it would take to please shut these people up?
In truth, the only thing that will make these demagogic windbags pipe down will be the steady revelation of the corruption they have helped to fester and the financial windfalls they have funneled into their personal bank accounts at your expense. When the truth is finally out and you ask why they did it — that's when they will go silent.
Meanwhile, the hideous resurrection of this worn-out template for protest is tedious at best, and at worst, it's a reprehensible insult to the lives and legacy of people who risked their very lives, who suffered the beatings of police and the attacks of police dogs to enjoy the simple freedoms that are taken for granted today. They were heroes who did not endure such barbaric abuse to secure the grift and insolent gluttony of a gaggle of ungrateful political overlords who are utterly desperate to protect the spoils of power.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member