It was a steamy night in Georgetown,
Congress had just dithered one more week.
Constituents ahead flagged a congressman down;
He decided to speak.

He asked "What shall we do, my countrymen;
There's so much that needs attention in this world".
But the crowd just kept shouting and chanting,
Insults and taunts were hurled.

The ugly scene was all too familiar,
He’d seen it many times before;
Partisans get loud and angry
When they feel that they’ve been ignored.

It took a while, but he got them all settled,
Then he glanced at a sign to learn their cause;
This group was opposed to gay marriage,
Seeking to pass new laws.

So he said, "How are you doing?"
And they shouted, "We are not being heard.
Though we’ve marched many miles
Through congressional aisles
Some still think that we’re absurd."

It was somewhere, back in grade school,
We were taught about democracy.
We learned the legislative process
And the role of a constituancy.

We were taught that we are all equals,
And together we can all be free,
But tolerance is fostered no longer,
You are an enemy if you disagree.

[Start of bridge section sung falsetto]

The rep then got up on his limo
And he started to speak
About the wild men, loonies,
Found all around, ruining the peace that we seek.

Yes, the U.S. has its native demons,
With hate and lies they’re spewing about
But all of us have let them seize the stage,
Drowning the sane men out.

Our country needs to learn how to listen
And it needs to learn it soon;
Or else we’ll lose the legacy given -
Ala “American Tune”

[End of bridge section sung falsetto]

There was not much more for him to talk about,
What joined us once, has been forgone.
So he got back into his limo,
It drove off, and he was gone.

My thought was that we must come together,
We’ll all fail if we remain estranged.
So I asked a protester what she thought
Of what the Congressman said. She said
"Nothing’s gonna change."

A part of me felt maddened and angry,
A part of me was simply sad.
A thoughtful man might have said something,
I simply thought “It’s too bad”.

As I walked away in silence.
Thinking truths we all should know:
Noone gets all that they ask for,
Get what you can, then let it go.

You see, we only have one country
That somehow we must learn to share.
Before we descend into chaos –.
And we are almost there.

Some people are mad or happy,
And many more are in denial.
But most are simply oblivious …
At least for a short while.