Which One Do You Feed?

Pirates in power, just protecting their profits                       D G D A
Bottomless pockets and full of denial.                                    D G D  A –
You can smell the scheming, hear their cups overflowing, D G D A
Just to keep you from seeing, and they’ll never stand trial. D G A D

Here on the street, you just don’t know what’s surviving. G D A
No recognizing how it used to be home.                                D G D  A
It’s a nation on fire. You can’t outrun the danger.               D G D A
Don’t be a stranger now, let’s see what we’ve done.            D G A D

Two voices calling now, which one do you heed?    G D A
Two people knocking, which one do you feed?       D G A D

Brought up believing that you- think of the others,
Sisters and brothers, and you lift them up.
But now the greedy ones are calling it weakness.
Hungry for power, and they can’t get enough.

Stealing your money, and they’re calling it freedom
Used to be moonlight and song
Now it’s hard to remember just what to believe in.
Caesar and soldiers, and no one belongs.

Two voices calling now, which one do you heed?     G D A
Two people knocking, which one do you feed?      D G A D

[FLUTE]

And I dreamed we were wiser, and I dreamed we were kinder
How are you dreaming like there’s nothing amiss?
Say you’re looking for heaven, let me know when you find her.
I’m still believing that we’re better than this.

Two voices calling now, which one do you heed?     G D A
Two people knocking, which one do you feed?       D  G A D

©Doug Hendren, Nancy Beall 2025

What’s it about? In the summer of 2025, the United States is at a dangerous crossroads. Economic inequality, already surpassing that of the “gilded age,” is becoming even more extreme under Republican leadership, and is adding more than $4 trillion to our national debt. This will primarily benefit wealthy Americans. The Trump regime is daily further eroding the founding principles of the United States, including the separation of Church and State, the separation of powers within the federal government, and the independence of the judiciary. These are all checks and balances that protect our democracy from decaying into dictatorship.

The Trump economy is based on tariffs, despite warnings from economists of all political stripes over the past year. The negative impact on the US economy is just beginning to become evident. At the same time, the current regime is aggressively purging the nation of immigrants, including essential farm workers. Attacks on our institutions of higher education are likewise having a deleterious effect on our economy, which will last for generations. For decades, the “best and brightest” in the world have flocked to the US for education, and many stay here, starting an astonishing number of successful businesses. Under the Trump/GOP influence, these students will take their brains and their business elsewhere. Trump is making the nation poorer by the day.

These policies are harmful to many of the people who voted for them, despite ample warning.  Listen to the song Don’t Come Crying To Me.

The current regime is following the blueprint of the notorious “Project 2025,” and is on track to subvert American democracy. Abandoning our traditional values and allies, Trump and his enablers are bullies, operating through power and fear, and rejecting compassion and cooperation as “weakness.”

This picture is the very antithesis of the America I grew up in. There have always been tensions in our dynamic history, balancing the interests of rich and poor through the democratic process and via an independent judiciary. The current regime routinely attacks the judiciary, and is attempting to stay in power by extreme gerrymandering and disenfranchisement of voters. Will they succeed? Should our nation be run for the benefit of billionaires, or for everyone? It brings to mind the parable of the Two Wolves.  Which one do you feed?