FASCISM IS HERE AND IT IS HERE TO STAY
Generalissimo Francisco Franco is still dead
Mussolini, Hitler, and Stalin, too
But their ideology flourishes
In service to the powerful and wealthy
In the USA fascism raised its ugly head
With suppression of labor movements
During the previous Gilded Age
Industrialists shouted communism
When workers organized to demand a living wage
And protests were violently crushed by state forces
And Pinkertons—a government contractor since the Civil War
But control of proles by plutocrats
Has grown more sophisticated with unbridled
Ownership of mass media—social and unsocial
Domination of production and supply
And leverage over education, religion, and governance
Our right to privacy, too, now slips away
And gullible minds are swayed by infotainment fuckery
That pits neighbor against neighbor to distract
Them from the tyranny that rules them
Cheap gewgaws are plentiful for all
TVs in every room and smart phones in every hand
To more easily shape the Zeitgeist, of course
But the cost of life-sustaining necessities
Food, shelter, energy, and healthcare
Rises daily beyond affordability for the majority
Along with medical, education, and credit card debt
And all three branches of government
Whole-heartedly support today’s Robber Barons
The real masters of our country and of our lives
Slavery never went away it just had a facelift