Adagio for Stars and Stripes

For every amber wave of grain,
There’s a mile of cinnamon dental floss.

For all the purple mountains’ majesties
There’s a hundred more Starbucks and McDonalds.

As fruited as the plains are,
There’s all those chemicals and pollutants.

By dawn’s early light,
Could we have seen reality teevee coming?

With the rocket’s red glare,
How could we have predicted Cold and Hot Wars?

What have we become?
Would George Washington be happy from above?
Can Abraham Lincoln still recognize us?

Who are we really?
Are We the People that far removed
From our ideals and beliefs?

Does the pursuit of a rock star mean more
Than the pursuit of happiness?

Are you proud of the pollution?
The corruption?
The greed? The graft?

Banks failing, terror rising.
Is this what we have to look forward to?

America should make you happy,
Should you make you feel glad.
But why, when I look around,
Do I feel so darn sad?