The stanza
"And the sign said, "Everybody welcome.
Come in. Kneel down and pray."
But when they passed around the plate at the end of it all,
I didn't have a penny to pay
So I got me a pen and a paper
And I made up my own little sign.
I said, "Thank you, Lord, for thinkin' 'bout me.
I'm alive and doin' fine."
I left a church for similar reasons and sought out a little half-dead parish whose congregation in the intercity was real. It was full of poor, homeless and gays and was the most loving place I'd ever worshiped!
We all know when this song came out it was a hippie mantra but look at us now over 50 years of age and still plagued by "Signs"! Where is the spirit of our youth? Have we become the sign-makers now?
What has happened to this country when every little move we make is controlled by some rule or statute? The kind of dog you can own is legislated. A poor dog can't run on the beach, kids can't ride on their skateboards, no where to park, no where to sit...stand...relax. Most beaches are owned by the rich. Different rules exist in each state for motorcycle helmets. You can't ride in your car without a seatbelt but can ride a motorcycle or children can ride in a school bus without one. They legislate what we put into our bodies and the move is on to require mandatory health care, national ID's, etc., etc. The list goes on and on (I didn't really want to rant...).
The 'sheep' will be quick to say "it's for our own good".
Several good quotes on that mentality come to mind. Somerset Maugham:
"If a nation values anything more than freedom, it will lose its freedom; and the irony of it is that if it is comfort or money that it values more, it will lose that too."
and...
Noam Chomsky:
"For those who stubbornly seek freedom, there can be no more urgent task than to come to understand the mechanisms and practices of indoctrination. These are easy to perceive in the totalitarian societies, much less so in the system of 'brainwashing under freedom' to which we are subjected and which all too often we sere as willing or unwitting instruments."
Where did all the hippies go?? I value my individualism and still believe one should "Question Authority". I, for one, will resist this control with my very being!
Signs
Five Man Electrical Band
And the sign said,
"Long-haired freaky people
Need not apply."
So I tucked my hair up under my hat
And I went in to ask him why.
He said, "You look like a fine upstandin' young man.
I think you'll do."
So I took off my hat and said, "Imagine that.
huh , me workin' for you."
Whoa, sign, sign.
Everywhere a sign.
Blockin' out the scen'ry.
Breakin' my mind.
Do this. Don't do that.
Can't you read the sign?
And the sign said,
"Anybody caught trespassin'
Will be shot on sight."
So I jumped on the fence and I yelled at the house,
"Hey! What gives you the right
To put up a fence to keep me out,
But to keep Mother Nature in?
If God was here, he'd tell you to your face,
'Man, you're some kind of sinner.'"
Sign, sign.
Everywhere a sign.
Blockin' out the scenery.
Breakin' my mind.
Do this. Don't do that.
Can't you read the sign?
Now, hey you, Mister, can't you read?
You got to have a shirt and tie to get a seat.
You can't even watch. No, you can't eat.
You ain't supposed to be here.
The sign said, "You've got to have a membership card
To get inside." Uh.
And the sign said, "Everybody welcome.
Come in. Kneel down and pray."
But when they passed around the plate at the end of it all,
I didn't have a penny to pay
So I got me a pen and a paper
And I made up my own little sign.
I said, "Thank you, Lord, for thinkin' 'bout me.
I'm alive and doin' fine."
Whoo! Sign, sign.
Everywhere a sign.
Blockin' out the scenery.
Breakin' my mind.
Do this. Don't do that.
Can't you read the sign?
Sign, sign.
Everywhere a sign.
Sign, sign.
