When I started reading Eduardo Galeano, I thought of Arundhati Roy. Now, revisiting her Come September speech she’s making me think of Tom Waits. Not that they look alike or anything..
Meanwhile down at the mall there’s a mid-season sale. Everything’s discounted – oceans, rivers, oil, gene pools, fig wasps, flowers, childhoods, aluminum factories, phone companies, wisdom, wilderness, civil rights, eco-systems, air – all 4,600 million years of evolution. It’s packed, sealed, tagged, valued and available off the rack. (No returns). As for justice – I’m told it’s on offer too. You can get the best that money can buy.
Donald Rumsfeld said that his mission in the War Against Terror was to persuade the world that Americans must be allowed to continue their way of life. When the maddened king stamps his foot, slaves tremble in their quarters. So, standing here today, it’s hard for me to say this, but "The American Way of Life" is simply not sustainable. Because it doesn’t acknowledge that there is a world beyond America.
Has anyone put this into Tom Waits’ Step Right Up?
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