A Visitor From the Past

I had a dream the other night, I didn’t understand
A figure walking through the mist with flintlock in his hand
His clothes were torn and dirty as he stood there by my bed
He took off his three-cornered hat, and speaking low, he said:

“We fought a revolution to secure our liberty
We wrote the Constitution as a shield from tyranny
For future generations, this legacy we gave
In this, the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave.

“The freedom we secured for you we hoped you’d always keep
But tyrants labored endlessly while your parents were asleep
Your freedom gone, your courage lost, you’re no more than a slave
In this, the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave.

“You buy permits to travel and permits to own a gun
Permits to start a business or to build a place for one
On land that you believe you own you pay a yearly rent
Although you have no voice in choosing how the money’s spent

“Your children must attend a school that doesn’t educate
Your Christian values can’t be taught, according to the state
You read about the current news in a regulated press
You pay a tax you do not owe to please the I.R.S.

“Your money is no longer made of silver or of gold
You trade your wealth for paper so your life can be controlled
Your pay for crimes that make our nation turn from God in shame
You’ve taken Satan’s number, as you’ve traded in your name

“You’ve given government control to those who do you harm
So they can padlock churches and steal the family farm
And keep our country deep in debt, put men of God in jail
Harass your fellow countrymen while corrupted courts prevail

“Your public servants don’t uphold the solemn oath they’ve sworn
Your daughters visit doctors so their children won’t be born
Your leaders ship artillery and guns to foreign shores
And send your sons to slaughter fighting other people’s wars

“Can you regain the freedom for which we fought and died?
Or don’t you have the courage or the faith to stand with pride?
Are there no more values for which you’ll fight to save?
Or would you have your children live in fear and be a slave?

“People of the Republic, arise and take a stand!
Defend the Constitution, the Supreme Law of the Land!
Preserve your great Republic and God-given right!
And pray to God to keep the torch of freedom burning bright!"

As I awoke he vanished, in the mist from whence he came
His words were true, we are not free, we have ourselves to blame
For even now as tyrants trample each God-given right
We only watch and tremble, too afraid to stand and fight

If he stood by your bedside, in a dream, while you’re asleep
And wondered what remains of our rights he fought to keep
What would be your answer if he called out from the grave:
"Is this still the Land of the Free and Home of the Brave?”