Why are the rich more equal than others?
Jag har många roller i mitt liv. Jag började min ”yrkesbana” som pastor men har lämnat den. Men emellanåt blir det en del förrättningar. Jag kan inte säga att jag gillar att ha begravningar, men upplever det som ett fantastiskt förtroende varje gång som jag får frågan. Några gånger per termin finns jag i talarstolen i olika kyrkor, helst i min egen. Idag är ett sådant tillfälle. Jag har fått ett antal frågor i konceptet ”Jag Undrar”. De ska jag försöka svara på. Det blir en slags framtida tidslinje då frågorna handlar om det man i teologin kallar eskatologin – läran om de yttersta tingen. Men under mina förberedelser har jag fått en sång på näthinnan. Denna i sin tur påminde mig om mina tonårsupplevelser då jag kom i kontakt med Larry Normans verk. Under 1970-talet kom han att påverka miljoner unga människor. Hans formuleringar tog tag i mig och ibland kan dikten vara så stark och närvarande. Flera strofer har följt mig sedan mina tonår. Bob Dylan är en annan person som påverkat många genom sina texter och blev t o m nobelpristagare i literatur. En av de dikter som påverkat mig mest i livet är The Great American Novel av Larry Norman. Det var många år sedan jag tog del av den, men inför min predikan tog jag del av den igen. Läs den gärna:
I was born and raised an orphan in a land that once was free
In a land that poured its love out on the moon;
And I grew up in the shadows of your silos filled with grain,
But you never helped to fill my empty spoon.
And when I was ten you murdered law with courtroom politics,
And you learned to make a lie sound just like truth;
But I know you better now and I don’t fall for all your tricks,
And you’ve lost the one advantage of my youth.
You kill a black man at midnight just for talking to your daughter,
Then you make his wife your mistress and you leave her without water;
And the sheet you wear upon your face is the sheet your children sleep on,
At every meal you say a prayer; you don’t believe but still you keep on.
And your money says in God we trust,
But it’s against the law to pray in school;
You say we beat the Russians to the moon,
And I say you starved your children to do it.
You are far across the ocean but the war is not your own,
And while you’re winning theirs, you’re gonna lose the one at home;
Do you really think the only way to bring about the peace
Is to sacrifice your children and kill all your enemies?
The politicians all make speeches while the news men all take note,
And they exaggerate the issues as they shove them down our throats;
Is it really up to them whether this country sinks or floats?
Well I wonder who would lead us if none of us would vote.
Well my phone is tapped and my lips are chapped from whispering through the fence,
You know every move I make, or is that just coincidence?
Well you try to make my way of life a little less like jail,
If I promise to make tapes and slides and send them through the mail.
And your money says in God we trust,
But it’s against the law to pray in school;
You say we beat the Russians to the moon,
And I say you starved your children to do it.
You say all men are equal, all men are brothers,
Then why are the rich more equal than others?
Don’t ask me for the answer, I’ve only got one:
That a man leaves his darkness when he follows the Son
Read more: Larry Norman – The Great American Novel Lyrics | MetroLyrics
