Television, Drug of the Nation
by [?] Heroes of Hiphoprisy (Michael Franti, 1991)

One nation under god has turned into
one nation under the influence of one drug

(chorus)
Television, the drug of the nation
[?] ignorance and [?] radiation

T.V., it satellite links
our united states of [?]
[?] therapeutic and extremely [?]
the [?] metronome pumping out
150 channels 24 hours a day
you can [?] all of them
and still there's nothing [?]
T.V. is the reason why less than ten percent
of our nation reads books daily
why most people think Central America means Kansas
socialism means unamerican
and [?] is a new [?] remedy
absorbed in its world it's so hard to find us
it [?] our mind the most
maybe the mother of our nation
should [?] us that we're sitting too [?] to...

(chorus)
Television, the drug of the nation
Breeding ignorance and feeding radiation

T.V. is the [?]
for political candidates
where [?] in the woods
are chased by [?] formula'd [?]
T.V. is mechanized politics
[?] over the masses
co-sponsored by environmentally safe gases
watch for the [?] special
it's the perpetuation of the [?]
where image takes precedence over [?]
where sound [?] politics are served
to the fastfood culture
where [?] in your mouth
are more important than the words
that come out of it
[?] is the way to get elected
[?] or will he not get elected on...

(chorus)
Television, the drug of the nation
Breeding ignorance and feeding radiation

T.V., is it the reflector or the director
does it imitate us or do we imitate it
because a child watches 1500 murders
before he's twelve years old
and we [?] how we've created
a [?] that learns to laugh
rather than [?] the horror
T.V. is the place where armchair generals
and [?] can experience [?]
the excitement of video [?]
as the [?] is sung in the background
sugar sweet sitcoms that leave us with
a bad actor taste while pop stars metamorphosize
into [?] you saw the video
you heard the soundtrack
well now go buy the [?]
well, the only cola that I support
is a union C.O.L.A. (cost of living [?]) on...

(chorus)
Television, the drug of the nation
Breeding ignorance and feeding radiation

Back again, "new and improved"
we return to our irregularly programmed [?]
hidden [?] between [?]
beer and car commmercials
[?] but mostly [?]
where [?] language like
"virtually spotless" "fresh frozen"
“light yet filling" and
"military intelligence" have become standard
T.V. is the place where phrases are redefined
like "recession" to "necessary [?]"
"[?]" on a beach to "mousse"
"civilian death" to "collateral damages"
and being killed by your own army
is now called "friendly fire"
T.V. is the place where the pursuit of
happiness has become the pursuit of [?]
where toothpaste and cars
have become sex objects
where imagination is sucked out of children
by a cathode ray [?]
T.V. is the only [?]
that would create a [?]
on...

(chorus)
Television, the drug of the nation
Breeding ignorance and feeding radiation