THE REVOLUTION WILL BE TELEVISED (with apologies to the incomparable Gil Scott Heron)

You will not be able to stay home, brother.
You will not be able to plug in, turn on and cop out.
You will not be able to lose yourself on skag and skip,
Skip out for beer during commercials,
Because the revolution will be televised.



The revolution will be televised.
The revolution will be brought to you by Xerox
In 4 parts without commercial interruptions.
The revolution will show you pictures of Bush
blowing a bugle and leading a charge by John
McCain, General Petraeus and Dick Cheney to eat
hog maws confiscated from a Harlem sanctuary.
The revolution will be televised.



The revolution will be brought to you by the
Schaefer Award Theatre and will star Michelle Obama and Barack Obama.
The revolution will give your mouth sex appeal.
The revolution will get rid of the nubs.
The revolution will make you look five pounds
thinner, because the revolution will be televised, Brother.



MSNBC will be able predict the winner at 8:32
or report from 29 districts.
The revolution will be televised.



There will be no pictures of pigs shooting down
brothers in the instant replay.
There will be no pictures of pigs shooting down
brothers in the instant replay.
There will be no pictures of Whitney Young being
run out of Harlem on a rail with a brand new process.
There will be no slow motion or still life of Roy
Wilkens strolling through Watts in a Red, Black and
Green liberation jumpsuit that he had been saving
For just the proper occasion.



American Idol, Lost, and The Simpsons
will no longer be so damned relevant, and
women will not care if Tom finally gets down with
Katie Holmes on Inside Edition because Black and White people
will be in the street looking for a brighter day.
The revolution will be televised.



There will be highlights on the eleven o'clock
news and pictures of hairy armed women
liberationists and Hillary Clinton blowing her nose.
The theme song will be written by Bruce Springsteen,
Francis Scott Key, or sung by John Cougar, Tom
Jones, Johnny Cash, James Brown, or Aretha Franklin.
The revolution will be televised.



The revolution will be right back after a message
about a white tornado, white lightning, or white people.
You will not have to worry about a dove in your
bedroom, a tiger in your tank, or the giant in your toilet bowl.
The revolution will go better with Coke.
The revolution will fight the germs that may cause bad breath.
The revolution will you in the driver's seat.



The revolution will be televised, will be televised,
will be televised, will be televised.
The revolution will be no re-run brothers;
The revolution will be live.

As a long haired Southern white male left wing redneck, I regard the struggle for civil rights as a movement that includes oppressed minorities and women of all races. Well, history teaches me that if someone else's civil rights are denied mine are in jeopardy as well ... so there is some enlightened self interest operating in my support of civil rights, women's rights, and GLBT rights ... but it is also just the right thing to do.

That being said, I feel this unnecessarily stabs at our sisters, many of whom have been equally supportive of the causes of ethnic minorities.

But, setting aside that important caveat, I must say that I share the sentiment! Let the revolution rock on!

it's my favorite line. :)