"Franco Un American" by NOFX, album: The War on Errorism (2003)

I never thought about the universe, it made me feel small
Never thought about the problems of this planet at all
Global warming, radio-active sites
Imperialistic wrongs and animal rights! no!
Why think of all the bad things when life is so good?
Why help with an am when there’s always a could?
Let the whales worry about the poisons in the sea
Outside of California, its foreign policy
I don’t want changes, I have no reactions
Your dilemmas are my distractions
That’s no way to go, franco un-american
No way to go, franco un-american (x4)

I never looked around, never second-guessed
Then I read some howard zinn now I’m always depressed
And now I can’t sleep from years of apathy
All because I read a little Noam Chomsky
I’m eating vegetation, cause of fast food nation
I’m wearing a couple of shoes cause of globalization
I’m watching Michael Moore expose the awful truth
I’m listening to public enemy and Reagan youth
I see no world peace cause of zealous armed forces
I eat no breath-mints cause their from de-hoofed horses
Now I cant believe; what an absolute failure
The presidents laughing cause we voted for nader
That’s no way to go, franco un-american (x4)

Where can we go, franco un-american
I want to move north and be a canadian
Or hang down low with the nice australians
I don’t want to be another I-don’t-care- I can
What are we gonna do franco, franco un-american

A song that satirizes the apathy, ignorance and superficiality of the mean american citizen about politics, society, environment, global issues, etc and his manipulation by celebrities. NOFX commenting on their album they say:

You don't have to be a political analyst to see that America is suffering from a general lack OF knowledge. In fact, americans seem to have a very limited knowledge of knowledge. Lots of opinions floating around, but very little actual knowledge. For being one of the wealthiestand supposedly greatest nations on the planet, one would think that the people of this great country would reflect that greatness. THEY DON'T. Compared to other wester countries, americans rank among the lowest when it comes to education and general knowledge of world affairs.

The first question one would ask is why? Why are americans so ignorant? Could it be that the american government wants them that way? If they didn't, they might spend more money on education. The best way to keep the status quo is to keep the majority of people happy. The best way to keep the people happy is to keep them ignorant. Ignorance is bliss and the blissful don't revolt.

How do you keep 300 million people from knowing or carig what's going on in the world? Well that seems pretty easy. First, you make sure that people spend most of their time concerned with their own security. You make sure local news shows cover all the local shootings, kidnappings, and armed roberies. Then threw in the sports, weather, and the ever changing price of gasoline. it seems that ALL major news sources provide the same one sided stories. When all you get to see is one side, it's hard to understand the complexities of an issue or have empathy for the other side. Someone such as Bill Maher from the canceled T.V. show Politically Incorrect was ostracized for giving an honest, yet unpopular viewpoint on the subject of terrorism, and his show was subsequently canceled. Somehow one of the most inherently american pastimes of criticizing the government is now considered to be completly un-american. It's our responsability as americans to exercise our right to civil disobedience and dissent, There are the principles on which our country was founded.

You can hear this song in youtube