I pledge allegiance to a country without borders, without politicians
Watching for my sky to get torn apart. “Politicians” by Switchfoot
(Watch the YouTube read along.)
A few months ago I took Lizzy to see Switchfoot here in Sydney. The tickets were more a gift to surprise her, since I was only just a ‘toe-in-the-water’ fan.
The concert venue was nothing special. However, the energy and authenticity of the band had me from the first note. Suffice to say, I spent the next few weeks listening to their catalogue.
One song that really grabbed me lyrically was the song “Politicians.”
I asked myself what Jon Foreman was trying to say with these lyrics. Is it political? Is it a stand or a protest against our current systems?
Then as I listened to it, over and over something really powerful emerged…
The chorus lyrics read:
“I pledge allegiance to a country without borders, without politicians
Watching for my sky to get torn apart
We are broken, we are bitter
We're the problem, we're the politicians
Watching for our sky to get torn apart
C'mon and break me.”
It’s easy to look at other’s and point the finger. Whether it is politicians, teachers, the poor, the rich, drug addicts, marketers, they, they, they…
What ‘they’ have is an infection. A disorder. A pervasive disease that makes us broken and bitter. That causes entropy and aching.
We ARE faded, splintered, and sedated and how we deal with this craziness in others is to separate ourselves from it. We psychologically distance ourselves in our self-talk and cultural conditioning.
“I wouldn't cheat, or steal, or hurt, or name-call, or politic… I wouldn’t do what ‘they' do” is what we tell ourselves.
But in the last chorus, Foreman switches the “we’s” to “I’s”.
Making it read:
“I am broken, I am bitter
I'm the problem, I'm the politician
Watching for my sky to get torn apart
C'mon and break me.”
And this is so powerful because in the ‘they’ and the ‘we’ there is the ‘I’.
I am broken, I am bitter. I’m the problem, I’m the politician.
In each and every one of us is the potential to be a liar, an alcoholic, or full of greed and fear. Destruction in some way, whether it’s in our speech, thoughts or actions, can form within us. Me.
I.
The Lord’s Prayer sums it up “…and forgive us our sins, as we have forgiven those who sin against us.”
When you see the failure in others, remember that the same potential for failure lies within you…
Then remind yourself of the grace bestowed upon you for that failure. It's unmerited right?
Now allow that thought to move you from judgement to empathy.
We all have the capacity to be politicians. To hustle and jostle and protect ourselves at the expense of others…
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