Re: THE POLITICAL STATE!

Thu, 29 Aug 1996 21:38:09 -0500 (EST)
ROBERT J.S. (rross@vax.clarku.edu)

Brothers and Sisters,

A Cultural Reflection from a Materialist watching the nomination of
William J:

Any Party which includes brother Mohamed Ali in the stands can't be all
bad. But any Party which plays The Boss's "Born in the USA" as a
patriotic song has hired illiterates and fools as its consultants.
[Marilyn Katz, and Heather B., to the contrary notwithstanding] In aid of
our ability to read historically and listen without idiocy, I give you
the lyrics of Born in the USA (courtesy of
http://diwww.epfl.ch/~vbossica/Bruce/1984.born.in.the.usa) :

Born in the U.S.A.
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Born down in a dead man's town
The first kick I took was when I hit the ground
You end up like a dog that's been beat too much
Till you spend half your life just covering up

Born in the U.S.A., I was born in the U.S.A.
I was born in the U.S.A., born in the U.S.A.

Got in a little hometown jam
So they put a rifle in my hand
Sent me off to a foreign land
To go and kill the yellow man

Born in the U.S.A....

Come back home to the refinery
Hiring man said "Son if it was up to me"
Went down to see my V.A. man
He said "Son, don't you understand"

I had a brother at Khe Sahn
Fighting off the Viet Cong
They're still there, he's all gone

He had a woman he loved in Saigon
I got a picture of him in her arms now

Down in the shadow of the penitentiary
Out by the gas fires of the refinery
I'm ten years burning down the road
Nowhere to run ain't got nowhere to go

Born in the U.S.A., I was born in the U.S.A.
Born in the U.S.A., I'm a long gone Daddy in the U.S.A.
Born in the U.S.A., Born in the U.S.A.
Born in the U.S.A., I'm a cool rocking Daddy in the U.S.A.

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Robert J.S. Ross 508 793 7243
Department of Sociology fax: 508 793 8816
Clark University
950 Main Street
Worcester, MA 01610
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