Here’s to you working man!

You, bastard children of America’s rotting core.

And you, woman with child,

Who labors for the whole nine months.

Here’s to you middle class!

You disappearing culture of can do rough necks,

And to you blue collared specimen.

You forgotten class of gentlemen.

Here’s to you farmers!

You, growers of cotton and raisers of corn.

And to you, herders of cattle,

You underappreciated slice of the pie.

Here’s to you early morning mechanics!

You, fixers of machines and servicers of engines.

And to you, tire changers and car cleaners.

You, who keep the machine of America running.

Here’s to you makers of metal!

You, forgers of steel and welders of iron.

And to you, machinists of gears.

You build the metal for our machines.

 

You! Formed by Hephaestus

Guarded by Couretes and Dactyls.

You who can wield the lightning bolts of Zeus,

You who build the foundation of civilization!

 

Listen up, you, underprivileged.

Listen here you back aching, sore necked,

You, hurt shoulder and cracked feet!

Listen to the sounds of America.

 

Listen, you overworked dogs.

Listen clearly you underpaid,

You, hard workers and over-skilled.

Listen to their lies.

 

You, brood of America, almost forgotten,

Except in the song and dance and lies of politicians.

You! A folklore that grows bigger with each tale.

You! Hidden, overlooked, but not yet gone.

 

Here’s to the overtaxed,

The haters of evil,

The lovers of peace

And fighters of war.

 

Here’s to you who never complain.

Who never change.

You, barely getting by,

You, who still follow the law.

 

You’re a breed apart!

A culture of Christians,

Atheists, Catholics and Jews,

Blacks, Irish, Germans and Mexicans.

 

I hear no sound from you,

But your silence is deafening.

You built and keep building this country.

No hatred toward those who reap the benefits.

You need not the rich.

You need not the Law.

You make your own.

You govern yourself!

 

You vote for the lies.

You vote for the fear.

Sure! Take care of everybody!

But words mean not a thing to you.

 

That office you vote for,

Used to hold respect.

But now it’s full of lies.

Full of empty promises and empty words!

 

Here’s to you working America!

You! Backbone of society.

You! Victim of arbitrary government.

You! Fighters for freedom and doers of good.

 

You pray for the good.

You do no harm.

You do no injustice.

You do no spiteful lying.

 

You hear malice speaking from their sick hearts

Yet are fooled by their politics!

You are fooled by their prevaricating to win

That House, that Office, that seat they don’t deserve.

Can we not wield our own?

Can we not provide better judgment?

You, who clear the land and punish the wicked,

Can we not set it all straight?

 

We beat the hammer;

We drive the nail;

We build the house and finish the stairs.

But we can’t fix our country!

 

It’s not the rich we hate.

It’s not their wealth we covet.

It’s the Congress of Deception;

The rudderless leaders we despise!

 

Forge a leader of truth and justice!

Forge us a leader of steel and iron!

Weld him with grit and determination,

Build him with sweat and a love of this land!

 

Here’s to you cast iron backbone of society!

You, unbendable strut of America.

You, redwood and mountain of the West,

You, builders and doers of right.

 

Here’s to us!

To us, wrench turners, house builders, and cabinet makers.

Here’s to us blue-collared, redneck, leather backs,

To us, dirty handed, callused fingered, burnt oil of America!

 

We won’t go down with a whimper.

We won’t go down with a hush.

Kicking, punching, fighting, biting,

Clawing, shooting, and yelling is how we’ll go!

We will band together.

They won’t bring us down with lies.

In spite of their lies we’ll show them integrity!

In spite of their malice, we’ll give war-hardened peace!

 

So here’s to us! Us who have the gut!

Us, who they always call on,

Us, who they’ll need to pull them out of the ditch,

Us bastard children of society!