Sundown On The Union (T.P. McWhorter)

  Oct. 8, 2008 (World News Trust) -- Hey all.  As I contemplate the day here in Malta, I listened to a bunch of great music and I figured today I would let a poem say all that needs to be said.

Well, my shoes, they come from Singapore,

My flashlight's from Taiwan,

My tablecloth's from Malaysia,

My belt buckle's from the Amazon.

You know, this shirt I wear comes from the Philippines

And the car I drive is a Chevrolet,

It was put together down in Argentina

By a guy makin' thirty cents a day.

Well, it's sundown on the union

And what's made in the U.S.A.

Sure was a good idea

'Til greed got in the way.

Well, this silk dress is from Hong Kong

And the pearls are from Japan.

Well, the dog collar's from India

And the flower pot's from Pakistan.

All the furniture, it says "Made in Brazil"

Where a woman, she slaved for sure

Bringin' home thirty cents a day to a family of twelve,

You know, that's a lot of money to her.

Well, it's sundown on the union

And what's made in the U.S.A.

Sure was a good idea

'Til greed got in the way.

Well, you know, lots of people complainin' that there is no work.

I say, "Why you say that for

When nothin' you got is U.S.-made?"

They don't make nothin' here no more,

You know, capitalism is above the law.

It say, "It don't count 'less it sells."

When it costs too much to build it at home

You just build it cheaper someplace else.

Well, it's sundown on the union

And what's made in the U.S.A.

Sure was a good idea

'Til greed got in the way.

Well, the job that you used to have,

They gave it to somebody down in El Salvador.

The unions are big business, friend,

And they're goin' out like a dinosaur.

They used to grow food in Kansas

Now they want to grow it on the moon and eat it raw.

I can see the day coming when even your home garden

Is gonna be against the law.

Well, it's sundown on the union

And what's made in the U.S.A.

Sure was a good idea

'Til greed got in the way.

Democracy don't rule the world,

You'd better get that in your head.

This world is ruled by violence

But I guess that's better left unsaid.

From Broadway to the Milky Way,

That's a lot of territory indeed

And a man's gonna do what he has to do

When he's got a hungry mouth to feed.

Well, it's sundown on the union

And what's made in the U.S.A.

Sure was a good idea

'Til greed got in the way.

So, I lied, a little when I said this was a poem.  And I sure did not write it.  The previous well-versed rhyme was a song written by Bob Dylan, called “Union Sundown”, from an album called Infidels.  The funny thing, though, this song was recorded in 1983, long before we gave almost all of our “Made In The U.S.A.” goods to so many other countries.  The song rings truer today than ever as America has become a country of consumerism, rather than the producer of goods that it used to be.  But now, what seems to be the biggest product to come out of the United States is fear.  Yesterday’s roller-coaster on the stock market sure proved that, and all of what led up to the fall of Lehman, Bear Sterns, and the rest was all rumors based on fear that made folks sell off the stocks they held from those companies that eventually led to the failures of the financial world that is going on now.

It is a shame, because when I look back at the U.S.A. in which I grew up, America stood for the so many things, and none of them was fear.  I can only hope Mr. Obama can win against the fearful, despicable liar McCain, because at least Obama has not ever shown us anything other than what what good sense can lead to in the face of adversity.  Hope, change, and a desire to be better.  Obama.