On the way home today I heard the close-out song (lyrics below) of a talk-radio host…this was his last show of the year that he would be hosting; no, he’s not going anywhere just yet, guest hosts will fill in for him until after the New Year holiday. Personally, I think he’s one of the best and most knowledgeable talk-show host on the radio…his arguments cannot be broken (And I’ll attest to that; no one has done it yet!). The song has a certain patriotic beat and I’ve heard parts of it before but never did I listen to the entire song until today. It made me think, “Am I the only one?”
Our country is divided today…more than it ever has been since 1860. Oh, I could have said, “Since the Civil War.” But what difference would it make when almost half the country has no idea what the Civil War was or when it started. They don’t teach history today, the powers to be change history…and they’re being pretty successful at it. And if you don’t believe that, you might be the only one. So we are divided, and not just by political parties (Democrat and Republican) but by association. By association, yes! A much better system than the two-party domineering power seekers we have today. Two quotes that back up my philosophy follow:
There is
nothing which I dread so much as a division of the republic into two great
parties, each arranged under its leader, and concerting measures in opposition
to each other. This, in my humble apprehension, is to be dreaded as the
greatest political evil under our Constitution. – John Adams (2nd
President of the United States)
Among the laws that rule human
societies there is one that seems more precise and clearer than all the others.
In order that men remain civilized or become so, the art of associating must be
developed and perfected among them in the same ratio as equality of conditions
increases. - Democracy in America (1835) by Alexis de Tocqueville
While
we’re on deTocqueville let me add this:
Tocqueville fell out of fashion during the late
nineteenth century, perhaps because Germany, not America, seemed to have caught
the wave of the future. German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck embraced socialism
and established the first modern welfare state, and people everywhere looked to
Germany for leadership.
But socialism triggered communism, fascism, Nazism, and other brutal tyrannies that slaughtered tens of millions during the twentieth century. The welfare state shackled hundreds of millions more with taxes and regulations. Then after World War II, America emerged as the world’s brightest hope. Tocqueville predicted it all.
Less I stray too far off my topic let’s get back to the song; Am I The Only One. Yes, that’s the title, “Am I The Only One.” Because we are so divided I have often felt like I am the only one wanting to do something about it but obviously I’m not…the words are in the lyrics and they’re being sung over the radio. And without too many calculations I could come up with at least seventy million more people to answer the question, “Am I the only one?” But right now I am the only one who has stated, “I’m willing to fight this division, but I’m damn sure not going to do it alone,” – Norman Hooben
P.S. Does the above commentary and the lyrics below sound like a prelude to something unimaginable? Yeah! And it’s called war. This division cannot go on without one!
Am I The Only One
Am I the only one here tonight
Shakin' my head and thinkin' somethin' ain't right
Is it just me? Am I losin' my mind?
Am I standin' on the edge of the end of time?
Am I the only one? Tell me I'm not
Who thinks they're takin' all the good we got
And turnin' it bad, hell, I'll be damned
I think I'm turnin' into my old man
Am I the only one, willin' to bleed
Or take a bullet for bein' free
Screamin', "What the fuck" at my TV
For tellin' me, yeah, are you tellin' me?
That I'm the only one, willin' to fight
For my love of the red and white
And the blue, burnin' on the ground
Another statue comin' down in a town near you
Watchin' the threads of Old Glory come undone
Am I the only one not brainwashed?
Makin' my way through the land of the lost
Who still gives a shit and worries 'bout his kids
As they try to undo all the things he did?
Am I the only one who can't take no more
Screamin', "If you don't like it, there's the fuckin' door"
This ain't the freedom we've been fightin' for
It was somethin' more, yeah, it was somethin' more
Am I the only one, willin' to fight
For my love of the red and white
And the blue, burnin' on the ground
Another statue comin' down in a town near you
Watchin' the threads of Old Glory come undone
I'm not the only one
I can't be the only one
Am I the only one who quits singin' along
Every time they play a Springsteen song?
Am I the only one sittin' here
Still holdin' on, holdin' back my tears
For the ones who paid with the lives they gave
God bless the U.S.A
I'm not the only one, willin' to fight
For my love of the red and white
And the blue, burnin' on the ground
Another statue comin' down in a town near you
Watchin' the threads of Old Glory come undone
I'm not the only one
I can't be the only one
Source: LyricFind
Songwriters: Aaron Lewis / Ira Dean / Jeffrey
Steele
Am I The Only One lyrics © Warner Chappell
Music, Inc, 3 Ring Circus Music LLC