Many of my patients have an increased sense of self -alienation since
Trump has become so dominant in the American psyche .
I recently came across this recording which aired on, This American Life.
The songwriter, Sara Bareilles ,imagines Obama’s interior dialogue and the singer, Leslie Odom,
offer us a complex painful and beautiful portrait of this experience.
Here is the link: .http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/7557782/leslie-odom-jr-hamilton-obama-trump-this-american-life-video
Here are the lyrics to “Seriously.”
Let’s start with hope
I threw it in the middle like a skipping stone
The ripples won, son of a gun
Some would not have thought so
But I stand here Commander in Chief
And I take that seriouslyBut along the way
A rogue ripple turned tidal wave
In reaction to what I tried to do
A rebirth of a nation’s hatred
Red, white and blue
Is black in there too?
Seriously?One man
Rewriting the book on bad behavior
Maybe cheats the neighbors
Feels he gets what they pay for
We can’t
Pat him on the back and send him on through
No man’s ignorance will ever be his virtueIs this the best we can be?
Seriously?Let’s talk of fear
And why I don’t bring it in here
It’s a dangerous word, it spooks the herd
And we all bleed in the stampede
Fear makes a false friend indeed
And I take it seriouslySo hear me now
Before the truth gets drowned out
By a demagogue flexing
A demagogue flexing
He’s history repeatingAngry?
Am I angry?
You ask am I angry?
And I’m at a loss for words
After all we’ve done
Every battle hard won
Every hair gone gray
In the name of this place
In a history plagued
With incredible mistakes
Still I pledge my allegiance to these
United divided States
SeriouslyLet’s end with “why?”
It’s a question I
Want to ask of us as a populace
Why not take our time or the weight of this story
Seriously?