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"Television, the Drug of the Nation" by The Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy

1/24/2016

 
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"Television, the Drug of the Nation"
Written by Michael Franti and Mark Pistel
One nation under God
Has turned into one nation
Under the influence of one drug

Television, the drug of the nation
Breeding ignorance and feeding radiation
On television, the drug of the nation
Breeding ignorance and feeding radiation

TV, its satellite links
Our United States of Unconsciousness
Apathetic, therapeutic 
And extremely addictive
The methadone metronome 
Pumping out 150 channels 
24 hours a day
You can flip through all of them
And still there's nothing worth watching

TV is the reason why 
Less than ten percent of our nation 
Reads books daily
Why most people think Central America
Means Kansas
Socialism means unamerican
And apartheid is a new headache remedy

Absorbed in its world it's so hard to find us
It shapes our minds the most
Maybe the mother of our nation
Should remind us
That we're sitting too close
To the

Television, the drug of the nation
Breeding ignorance and feeding radiation
On television, the drug of the nation
Breeding ignorance and feeding radiation

TV is the stomping ground 
For political candidates
Where bears in the woods are chased 
By Grecian Formula'd bald eagles
TV is mechanized politics
Remote control over the masses
Co-sponsored by environmentally safe gases
Watch for the PBS special

It's the perpetuation of the two party system
Where image takes precedence over wisdom
Where sound bite politics are served
To the fast food culture
Where straight teeth in your mouth
Are more important 
Than the words that come out of it
Race baiting is the way to get selected
Willie Horton or will he not get elected on

Television, the drug of the nation
Breeding ignorance and feeding radiation
On television, the drug of the nation
Breeding ignorance and feeding radiation

TV, is it the reflector or the director
Does it imitate us or do we imitate it
Because a child watches 1500 murders
Before he's 12 years old
And we wonder how we've created 
A Jason generation that learns to laugh 
Rather than abhor the horror

TV is the place where armchair
Generals and quarterbacks
Can experience first hand
The excitement of video warfare
As the theme song is sung in the background
Sugar sweet sitcoms
That leave us with a bad actor taste
While pop stars metamorphosize 
Into soda pop stars
You saw the video
You heard the soundtrack
Now go buy the soft drink
Well, the only cola that I support
Would be a union C.O.L.A. 
(Cost of Living Allowance)
On

Television, the drug of the nation
Breeding ignorance and feeding radiation
On television, the drug of the nation
Breeding ignorance and feeding radiation

Back again, new and improved
We return to our irregularly 
Programmed schedule
Hidden cleverly between heavily breasted
Beer and car commercials
CNNESPNABCTNT but mostly B.S.
Where oxymoronic language like
"Virtually spotless", "fresh frozen"
"Light, yet filling" and "military intelligence"
Have become standard

TV is the place where phrases are redefined
Like "recession" to "necessary downturn"
"Crude oil" on a beach to "mousse"
"Civilian death" to "collateral damages"
And being killed by your own army
Is now called "friendly fire"

TV is the place where the pursuit of happiness
Has become the pursuit of trivia
Where toothpaste and cars 
Have become sex objects
Where imagination is sucked out of children
By a cathode ray nipple
TV is the only wet nurse
That would create a cripple

Television, the drug of the nation
Breeding ignorance and feeding radiation
On television, the drug of the nation
Breeding ignorance and feeding radiation
On television, the drug of the nation
Breeding ignorance and feeding radiation
On television, the drug of the nation
Breeding ignorance and feeding radiation
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More Information About
The Disposable Heroes 
of Hiphoprisy

Visit the Official Websites of
Michael Franti
Mark Pistel

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Buy CD, Cassette or Download

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Download on iTunes



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