Radical Civility

There’s not a street that you can walk.
You got to watch just who you’re talkin’ to.
They’re out to get ya, can’t turn your back on a smilin’ face.
Next thing ya know, there ain’t no trace of you.
And this I betcha…some people lose, and some folks win.
It’s a matter of what they do.

Are you man enough…big and bad enough?
Are you gonna let ‘em shoot ya down?
When the evil flies, and your brother cries,
Are you gonna be around?
Someone needs a friend, just around the bend.
Don’t ya think you should be there?
Are you man enough…when the goin’s rough?
Is it in your heart to care?

There’s no pretending it goes away.
With every step that you take…you pay your dues.
And I ain’t lyin’.
You got to struggle to see the light.
How someone’s lookin’ to steal your right to choose.
And don’t stop tryin’.
It’s like a jungle outside the door,
and it’s keepin’ you so confused.

Are you man enough…big and bad enough?
Are you gonna let ‘em shoot ya down?
When the evil flies, and your brother cries,
Are you gonna be around?

Gotta keep your eye on the passers-by.
Better watch your step!
‘Cause ya never know where the knife would go,
and they ain’t missed yet!
The strong survive, they stay alive.
They always do.
But that they never teach you in school.

Are you man enough…big and bad enough?
Are you gonna let ‘em shoot ya down?
When the evil flies, and your brother cries,
Are you gonna be around?
Someone needs a friend, just around the bend.
Don’t ya think you should be there?
Are you man enough…when the goin’ get’s rough?
Is it in your heart to care?

Are you man enough…big and bad enough? (Are you big & bad enough?)
Are you gonna let ‘em shoot ya down?
When the evil flies, and your brother cries,
Are you gonna be around?

– The Four Tops, from the film Shaft in Africa

THEY first charged me with disorderly conduct,
There being no statute on blasphemy.
Later they locked me up as insane
Where I was beaten to death by a Catholic guard.
My offense was this:
I said God lied to Adam, and destined him
To lead the life of a fool,
Ignorant that there is evil in the world as well as good.
And when Adam outwitted God by eating the apple
And saw through the lie,
God drove him out of Eden to keep him from taking
The fruit of immortal life.
For Christ’s sake, you sensible people,
Here’s what God Himself says about it in the book of Genesis:
“And the Lord God said, behold the man
Is become as one of us” (a little envy, you see),
“To know good and evil” (The all-is-good lie exposed):
“And now lest he put forth his hand and take
Also of the tree of life and eat, and live forever:
Therefore the Lord God sent Him forth from the garden of Eden.”
(The reason I believe God crucified His Own Son
To get out of the wretched tangle is, because it sounds just like Him.)

– Edgard Lee Masters, Spoon River Anthology (1916)