June 10, 2025: Pity the Nation

Vicki Weeks joined Voices of Reason and Resistance as guest host to talk about the state of the USA using Lawrence Ferlinghetti's poem, "Pity the Nation" as the backdrop.  This poem, released in 2007, by Ferlinghetti, bemoans a nation whose people are sheep misled by shepherds, whose leaders are liars and sages are silenced, praise conquerors and celebrate bullies, rule the world by force and torture, know no other language and culture but its their, whose breath is money and who sleep the sleep of the too well fed, and allow their rights to erode and their freedoms to be washed away.  How prescient are these words by a poet, born in 1919 and died in 2021, and lived through the 1950s and 60s Red Scare, Vietnam War, and assassinations of sages; 9/11 and the aftermath USA War on Terror; its "rules-based order" to weaken perceived enemies, such as Russia, and China, and support for the genocidal State of Israel.   

Thanks to Vicki for joining the conversation and pointing out that so many of the "western leaders," including President Donald Trump, France's Macron, the UK's Starmer, and German's Merz cheer on the wars, support the economic systems that enrich the rich and decimate the poor, and promote policies that support Israel's genocide of the Palestinians.     

Unfortunately, due to an equipment glitch in the studio, we were unable to record the show.  

Next week, VoR&R will look at the resistance rising and compare this to the resistance of the 1960s, especially 1968.