Wasteland of the Free by Iris Dement We got preachers dealin' in politics and diamond mines And their speech is growing increasingly unkind They say they are Christ's disciples -- They don't look like Jesus to me And it feels like I am living in the wasteland of the free We got politicians runnin' races on corporate cash Now don't tell me they don't turn around and kiss them peoples' ass You may call me old fashioned -- That don't fit my picture of a true democracy And it feels like I am living in the wasteland of the free We got CEOs makin' 200 times the worker's pay And they fight like hell against raisin' the minimum wage If you don't like it, mister, They'll ship your job to some Third World country 'cross the sea And it feels like I am living in the wasteland of the free Living in the wasteland of the free Where the poor have now become the enemy Let's blame our problems on the weak ones -- Sounds like some kind of Hitler remedy And it feels like I am living in the wasteland of the free We got kids fighting inner-city wars And what do we do, we put these little kids behind prison doors And they say we're the advanced civilization -- That sounds like crap to me And it feels like I am living in the wasteland of the free We got high-school kids wearin' Calvin Klein and Guess Who cannot pass a fifth grade written test But if you ask them, they can tell you The name of every crotch on MTV And it feels like I am living in the wasteland of the free We kill for oil, then throw a party when we win Some guy refuses to fight and we call that the sin He's standing up for what he believes in -- That sounds pretty damned American to me And it feels like I am living in the wasteland of the free While we stand gloating in our greatness Justice is sinking towards the bottom of the sea And it feels like I am living in the wasteland of the free Living in the wasteland of the free