NoFX: Idiots Are Taking Over
[purchase]
Here we go again.
Back in 2000, more Americans turned out to vote for a qualified, competent, intelligent, thoughtful Democrat who was maybe not the most exciting candidate, but the Electoral College chose an unqualified, intellectually incurious, right wing clown who liked to spend time away from the White House.
Sound familiar? It's like déjà vu all over again.
That time, things worked out quite well, what with 9/11, the Patriot Act, Guantanamo, two foolish wars, lies about weapons of mass destruction, government sponsored torture, ISIS, the botched Katrina response, alienation of our allies, no health care plan, a continued refusal to credit science and facts, ballooning deficits, increasing income and wealth inequality and the closest thing to a great depression since the Great Depression. Just for starters.
In 2003, even before much of the Bush debacle had even happened, sneaky smart punk band NoFX released their album The War on Errorism, which, in part, is a scathing attack on the still relatively new Bush administration. It included “Idiots Are Taking Over,” a song whose lyrics, only slightly over the top, unfortunately ring true again. For example:
It's not the right time to be sober
Now the idiots have taken over
Spreading like a social cancer, is there an answer?
* * *
The benevolent and wise are being thwarted, ostracized, what a bummer
The world keeps getting dumber
Insensitivity is standard and faith is being fancied over reason
* * *
What are we left with?
A nation of god-fearing pregnant nationalists
Who feel it's their duty to populate the homeland
Pass on traditions
How to get ahead religions
And prosperity via simpleton culture
It took us eight years to get rid of that awful crew, although the obstructionist Republicans in Congress worked hard to thwart progress.
And now, we have come full circle. Let’s hope that it isn’t over, and that through smart actions, both in and out of Washington, it doesn’t take that long to reverse things this time.