This Fourth

This Fourth of July
Tariffs and a trade war
Inflation rising

Calls for regime change
The folly of wars of choice
The sound of bombs dropping

Rogues and damn scoundrels
Doing their worst, unrestrained
God bless America

But they got their tax cuts
And Supreme Court justices
The spoils of the feast

Big, beautiful bombs, then,
And bills signed in blood
And fraught with impunity

The half-life of dreams
Decay by design
A body drained of integrity

This Fourth, a playlist

A soundtrack for this note courtesy of Sault (spotify version)

• Glory
• Sorry ain't enough
• Why why why why why
• Warrior
• Living in America
• Fear no one
• Threats
• Valley of the ocean
• Free
• Wildfires
• God in disguise
• Masterpiece

Bonus beats: There will be no crying by Cleo Sol

...

The Strait of Hormuz
Motherhood and apple pie
Time for a ceasefire

...

No nation sinks to greater depths than when its government is obliged to listen silently to moral sermons preached by obvious scoundrels

— Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach

See previously: A Very Beautiful Thing!, Facilitate, You Voted For This (And Other Songs), and An Abundance of Caution

File under: hatchet job, humour, satire, rogues, politics, USA, culture, observation, perception, values, displacement, Observers are worried, Buyer's Remorse, poetry, toli

Writing log: June 23, 2025