July 4th weekend is a perfect time to reflect on our freedoms and their importance. In that spirit, Remy of Reason, who’s kind of the Libertairian version of Weird Al Yankovic, has produced a parody of Toby Keith’s song “Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue” which enjoyed popularity after the attacks of 9/11.
You can make an argument, and many conservatives have, that things like the Patriot Act haven’t directly impacted the civil liberties of average American citizens, but some things have obviously gotten out of control, as exemplified in Kemberlee’s horrific post about the TSA yesterday.
Remy’s humorous parody focuses on the fact that while we give away our civil liberties in the name of combating terrorism, it doesn’t hurt the terrorists, it just makes us less free.
Watch the video below:
If you’re in a place where you can’t watch videos, here are the lyrics, courtesy of Reason TV:
Remy: Courtesy of the Red, White & Blue (Civil Liberties Edition)My daddy came to this countryhe escaped from Iraqand he came with nothing but a dreamof the American flagHe wanted my mother, my sisterour carpet and meto grow up and live happyin the land of the freeNow this nation that I loveis under terror attackanother sucker punch came flying infrom this punk in the backYou think you can start a fightand we’ll roll over and dieman we’ll light up your worldlike the Fourth of JulyWe’re gonna tap this guy’s phonetake his rifle and thenforce companies to make software withbackdoor access and thenWe’ll be raising his taxesmake him pay for these toysand whenever he goes flying we’ll becupping his boysYeah it’ll feel like the whole wide worldis raining down on youbrought to you courtesyof the red, white, and blueWe’ll run up debt and beso underwater on loansyou’d swear Ted Kennedyhad probably driven us homeYou think you can pick a fightand make us change our free wayswe’ll put a dude in his assit’s the American wayWe’ll tap this guy’s browser historyhave due process decreasedand when he bites a shape in Pop Tartswe’re gonna call the policeWe’ll put your name in the papersyou’ll be famous in mallsand when this guy goes to New Yorkthey’ll be cupping his ballsYeah don’t it feel like the whole wide worldis raining down on you?that’s brought to you courtesyof the red, white, and blue
Balancing our freedoms with national security is complicated but at least we can still laugh at ourselves.
Right?
Featured image via YouTube.
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