On God Bless America

•

For a while I thought my problem
with the slogan "God Bless America"
was the simple
atheist thing.

What is it with this god
that America needs to bless itself with,
as our boys go to war in another so-called American century,
as this government denies women the right to choose,
as big business seeks to privatize everything under the sun,
as the rich grow richer and the poor grow poorer,

not to mention those bumperstickers
"God Bless America"
which adorn many of the Republican cars
of northern New Jersey?

Why does America need a god
I would wonder, if it truly stands for truth and justice?
If it is doing good,
why can't it bless itself with everything
it does and plants and upholds and unfurls?

Now, I see it is not god,
but a certain kind of god.
America insisted
was on its side,

great white father
to his wayward children,
all-seeing,
all-wise,

promising peace and justice
to the poor in the afterlife,
preaching resignation to war and exploitation
in this one,

as America overthrew governments
it didn't like
because they were not
pro-big business,
.
just as it installed dictators
in those same countries
because
they were.

I mean:
there are gods
and then there are gods,
just like there are capitalist politicians
and socialist ones.

A big thing
about the ism thing is
not so much what we say
as what we do.

Now I see it is not America,
but a certain kind of America
that insisted god was
on its side,

as it shelved the United Nations,
as it turned its back on the assassination of the earth,
as it established Abu Ghraib in the name of fighting terrorism,
just as in the name of freedom
it waged a cold war against the workers of the world.

Black, brown,
yellow, white,

now it is time
to unite and fight.

Christian, Jewish,
Muslim, Hindu,

the god thing or the atheist thing
I leave up
to you.

But only socialism can save
this dying planet.
Only socialism can bring a world
without war, environmental degradation
and racism of any sort.

U.S. Out of Iraq,
No More Wall Street Wars!
Production for Human Needs,
Not For Corporate Profits!

Jobs for All,
Health Care for All!.
Money for Schools and
Public Works,
Not For War!

Though, if you insist
"God Bless America"—
if you really insist,
in your heart of hearts,

well, OK then—
how about
"God Bless the World"?