Demolition, Man

Oh! demolition demolition
Demolition demolition

Tied to the tracks and the train’s fast coming
Strapped to the wing with the engine running
You say that this wasn’t in your plan
And don’t mess around with the demolition man

Tied to a chair and the bomb is ticking
This situation was not of your picking
You say that this wasn’t in your plan
And don’t mess around with the demolition man

I’m a walking nightmare, an arsenal of doom
I kill conversation as I walk into the room
I’m a three line whip, I’m the sort of thing they ban
I’m a walking disaster, I’m a demolition man
Demolition, demolition
Demolition, demolition

You come to me like a moth to the flame
It’s love you need but I don’t play that game
‘Cause you could be my greatest fan

But I’m nobody’s friend, I’m a demolition man

I’m a walking nightmare, an arsenal of doom
I kill conversation as I walk into the room
I’m a three line whip, I’m the sort of thing they ban
I’m a walking disaster, I’m a demolition man
Demolition, demolition
Demolition, demolition

Tied to the tracks and the train’s fast coming
Strapped to the wing with the engine running
You say that this wasn’t in your plan
And don’t mess around with the demolition man

Tied to a chair, and the bomb is ticking
This situation was not of your picking
You say that this wasn’t in your plan
And don’t mess around with the demolition man

-Lyrics to “Demolition Man,” written by Sting and first recorded by Grace Jones

How on earth did we get here? A federal government that is shut down and The White House receiving a wrecking ball — partially destroying a symbol of a presidency bound by The U.S. Constitution, the legal separation of powers and 250 years of democracy. This is taking place at the same time whole swaths of people are fearing for their lives, experiencing military power that is being directed and exercised without regard for individual rights at home or national sovereignty abroad. Families are being forced to go hungry, being denied potentially life-saving health care; left to fend for themselves and being forced to make impossible choices.

And yet those in a position to do so continue to act terrified to confront these destructive forces, instead choosing to grind everything to a halt while pointing fingers at one another. They scratch their heads wondering why people may lose faith in democracy or decline to exercise their right to vote if they think it will maintain any version of the status quo. An obvious and likely explanation would be that we’re moving further away from the democracy most of us learned about and believed in. Perhaps in our frustration, we’re losing the perspective that our actions still represent a choice whether to be a part of the problem or part of the solution.

“Democracy is not a noun–-democracy is a verb…If you think democracy is something outside of you, it’s already lost. – Historian Timothy Snyder

For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked leads to destruction. –Psalm 1:6