Divided by Degree
Posted December 27, 2005
I was walking to work one day and I saw this guy flying paper airplanes in Balboa Park. He was totally into what he was doing and oblivious to all around him. After work I was walking back to my car and saw the same guy there, still flying his planes. The obsession this man had for flight was just amazing to see; I thought him crazy. But then I started thinking about other things we obsess about and how there are many people we'd consider crazy, and many people do things that seem crazy but are considered quite sane, and so the notion hit me of humanity being "divided by degree" - and from that came a new song that I'm recording right now - since I have to do everything myself in this crazy thing I call n of one it takes a while, but I should have this done by the end of January 2006. For now, if you're interested, here are the lyrics.
Divided by degree
Written by Patrick J. Morris, DVM, DACZM as n of one
November 8, 2004
I once saw a man flying,
Paper airplanes in the park,
From dawn to dusk and dusk on,
Into the dark.
I watched the astronauts die,
As they fell down from the sky,
Though they know that they may not survive,
They're still compelled to try,
Cuz we are creatures of extremes, obsessed by our dreams,
We fly, and then we die, long before our time,
And whether wayward peers or pioneers,
We are bound by human tendency,
Divided only by degree.
The brave young fireman dives,
Into the smoke and flames,
And gives his life to save a child,
From a fiery grave,
And the endless line of restless Johns vie
To satisfy their vice,
As the prostitute lies destitute, defiled,
A human sacrifice,
We are creatures of extremes, impulsive and obscene,
We cry and then we die,
Long before our time,
And whether heroes or whores,
We succumb to human frailty,
Divided only by degree.
Fanatic fundamentalist contrives,
His dark, sadistic plans,
To utilize innocent lives,
As sacrificial lambs
While politicians lie and smile,
And wave their puppet hands,
And send our boys and girls to die,
Alone in foreign lands,
We are creatures of extremes,
Destroyers of dreams,
we die for a lie,
Long before our time,
And whether leaders or believers,
We fall prey to our stupidity,
And I know that I am nothing,
And that's okay cuz neither are you,
But together we could be something good,
Strong are many, weak are few,
And I used to believe in the promise of humanity,
But that was just a stupid dream,
Just a childhood fantasy,
And now I realize the truth,
We're just animals on the loose,
Escapees from the human zoo,
Yeah we're humanity divided,
Self-assured, yet undecided,
Unbridled and suicidal,
Oblivious and in denial,
Ambiguous, yet precise,
Venerated, yet despised,
Uncanny ingenuity,
Embarassing stupidity,
Unparalleled brutality,
Selfless philanthropy,
No theologic tolerance,
Incognizant of common sense,
All victims, scream indemnity,
None take responsibility,
Yeah, humanity is divided,
And there's a lession here most certainly,
Draw your own conclusions, please.
