Land of the What?

As a child and then idealistic young man I believed my nation to be the land of the free and the home of the brave. I truly believed that those words were at the very core of the American soul. I was wrong. I did not know yet that free only applies here when you use the word market. Land of the free market, well, as free as the rich will let it be anyhow. Brave? What is brave about the way we live? What brave new steps are we taking to preserve our planet or take care of our weak? What do we do that is brave? War? Yes, the ones we send, there can be no doubt that the word brave applies to their being, but what of those who send them? How brave are the politicians and generals who cause our wars? A strung out druggie who holds up a gas station to fund his fix has more bravery in him than those weasels. And sadly I have come to live in a world where I have more respect for him than the individuals leading this nation. This is a land of the haves and the home of the have nots and we spiral towards what every great human civilization spirals toward when they get to big for their britches... nowhere. I could never imagine being an ultra rich man during days like these. How could I live with myself? How could I justify my opulence? I could not. The American dream is simply something that I could not do, and yet my fellow Americans scurry for it like rats to shit. Land of the what? Home of the who? Damn, mister you're gonna have to ask somebody else cause I ain't got a damn clue.