Pity

the nation whose leaders are liars, whose sages are silenced,
and whose bigots haunt the airwaves.
Pity

the nation that raises not its voice,
except to praise conquerors and acclaim the bully as hero
and aims to rule the world with force and by torture.
Pity

the nation that knows no other language but its own
and no other culture but its own.
Pity

the nation whose breath is money
and sleeps the sleep of the too well fed.
Pity

the nation — oh, pity the people who allow their rights to erode
and their freedoms to be washed away.
My country, tears of thee, sweet land of liberty.”

― Lawrence Ferlinghett