America, America (The Impossible To Please)

When we come into your lands, you give us two identities,
a 9-digit number and a set of 3 names,
Based on our skin colors and hues,
you assign us all into different ethnicities.

You are one of the most powerful nations in the world, yes?
Yet you constantly berate everyone living with you nonetheless…
I'm not saying I hate you,
but with all your rules, demands, and unrealistic expectations,
you're just impossible to please

If I am poor, you kick me down, tell me I'm nothing,
immediately call me worthless, unfit, or something
without even knowing me or where I stand,
condemning me to crowded, condensed, small land

If my skin isn't the right color, you immediately hate me,
deny me rights I'm supposed to have from birth,
limit my opportunities to advance,
immediately say I'm inferior, I can't achieve,
without giving me a chance
you make false generalizations about me,
Even when I do the right thing,
I work hard, go to school, get a college degree,
have a successful career, a nice house, a luxury car,
just to prove my worth to you
Even THAT'S not good enough

If I am female, you treat me as if some object
because I have breasts, ovaries, and have to bear children,
and go through the pains of a monthly cycle,
I'm less of a person to you
I have as much education and skill as you,
we work the same job, yet you pay me less
when I show I'm tougher than you
you're immediately threatened,
I mature faster than you,
but you still render me inferior
you don't care about my thoughts, feelings,
or my personality,
you only care about my looks

If I gain weight, you call me fat,
If I don't weigh enough, you call me skinny,
If my clothes don't show enough skin of me,
it's not good enough
If I don't wear the clothes you want me to wear,
listen to popular music sung by untalented artists,
buy every useless product you manufacture,
you single me out,
just for being different, for being an individual

If I am male, I have to set a standard,
I have to be strong, aggressive, and masculine,
chauvinistic, boorish, and a douchebag,
If I am not, you hate me
just because I'm not a musclehead he-man,
kind, sweet, thoughtful, and sensitive,
and keep myself clean,
don't want to fight pointless wars at the age of 18,
don't watch sports, or drink excessive alcohol,
you label me a pansy boy, a sissy, a cupcake

If I'm rich and famous, I'm not even safe
you build me up, then tear me down,
until I'm nothing
watching my every move,
putting me to shame,
for every pound I lose or gain,
every mistake I make, every flaw I possess,
monitoring every perosn I date,
judging me by appearance still
there's no escape, the torture is endless

If I'm a foreigner,
I have a choice to stick to my own culture,
or try to blend in with everyone else,
learn your language, wear your clothes,
I pledge my allegiance to you, follow the dominant religion,
but even when I do,
you still do not accept me

If my dating preferences differ,
you immediately get angry,
If I like someone of the same sex,
you condemn me, tell me God hates me,
that I'm an abomination
If I like someone of a different hue than my own,
you criticize me, scold me,
turn people of my group against me,
make them see me as a traitor, a sellout
my friends, relatives, and family,
for no reason at all

If I am disabled, mentally, or physically,
or born with a different physique, a defect,
you separate me from the rest,
treat me as if I'm less,
I try to be normal, I try my very best
I try to get an education, work a 9 to 5 job,
to own my own home,
maybe have my own family,
but no matter what I do,
you still put me to shame,
because of something that is beyond my control,
something that is not my fault

If I don't agree with your views,
whether they are regular or political,
you try to manipulate me, to make me choose yours,

If I see through your lies,
try to make the truth known,
if I find out something you don't like,
something you've been hiding from the public,
you try to silence me,
or pass me off as insane,
when all the while, you know you're wrong,
when it is you who is in denial, so deranged

When I'm a child,
you immediately consider me little,
I'm practically helpless, somewhat at a disadvantage
you try to program me to think the way you do,
strip me of my individuality, my ambition,
punish me when I oppose you or your beliefs,
or simply just because I'm shorter than you

When I'm an adult,
you judge me based on my looks, education level,
personal appearance, race, gender,
religion, or status,
you categorize us all, put me into this group,
you pit us against one another,
with false propaganda, stereotypes, and lies,
when you consider us unproductive,
you find ways to get rid of us,
so you won't have to take care of us later,
whether by alcohol, drugs, or media influence,
or sexual lifestyles,
trying to pick us off one by one,
before we get old

When I get old, and become an elder,
you try to speed up my death,
just because I have aged, I'm useless to you,
I'm retired, I cannot work anymore,
pump fuel into the economy,
join the army,
or buy useless material goods

When I die,
you dress up my corpse,
throw me a going away party
with family and friends seeing me dead,
mourning, grieving, crying
then bury me six feet under
I'm gone forever,
you erase all traces of me,
from the system
I'm no longer with you,
I'm finally free
free of all your lies
free of all your torment
free of all your hate

I don't have to please you anymore
I'm finally free
in a better place

America, you are the land of the free,
and the home of the brave,
you say you grant me the right of liberty,
freedom, and the pursuit of happiness,
yet I spend each and every day trying to satisfy you,
to live up to your insatiable rules, demands, and expectations,
but no matter what I do, you are never satisfied
nothing I do is ever good enough for you
pleasing you is impossible