On December 17, 2011, a group of citizens from Ventura County, California gathered together to sing a song specifically written to support America's Middle Class. The song is entitled "Middle Class Destruction." The song is meant to identify some of the reasons why many of us feel frustrated with America's self-inflicted financial crises and our dysfunctional political system.

Make Your Own Video!

After watching our music video and reading our lyrics, we hope you'll be inspired to make your own music video using our song. You can sing (or lip-synch) or show important images to our song – Middle Class Destruction. Be Creative for America's Middle Class and sing it all over America!

Please upload your video to our Middle Class Song channel on YouTube. Let's make a statement America!

 
 

 

Here's a little background into the song, Middle Class Destruction -

I was driving home from work one evening listening to the 1960's protest song Eve of Destruction.

Instead of the original words, I just started singing "Our financial world, it is explodin'" and the rest of the words just flowed from that. I went to a couple of local Occupy Wall Street meetings and told folks about the song and one thing led to another and we made a music video.

It's amazing how things evolve sometimes.

Some have said my lyrics sound angry. I thought about that for some time; so what do we have to be angry about?

Maybe it's America's financial crises brought about by deregulated Wall Street banks and other financial institutions who created risky investments based upon questionable home mortgages, basically gambled with those investments, lost in their gamble, and then expected to be bailed out with American taxpayer money when the housing market imploded. Now those very same banks that received taxpayer bailouts are foreclosing on the homes of American taxpayers. The irony would be funny if it wasn't so damn damaging to the lives of America's Middle Class.

The fact that it happened and there's still no serious regulation of Wall Street (with "teeth" like the Glass-Steagall Act) speaks volumes about corporate power in America today.

Of course, it could be our dysfunctional political system that's absolutely controlled by big money and paid lobbyists. For god's sake, America's corporate elite have been writing their own legislation that our elected Congressional politicians then introduce into Congress as if it was their idea. Our system of government has degenerated into a system of LEGALIZED BRIBERY, not much different than what goes on in the political backrooms of Nigeria or Guatemala. Politically speaking, America has become a Third World Country.
As Bob Dylan said: "Money Doesn't Talk, it Screams."

The American dream of the Middle Class is dying before our very eyes;
You bet I wrote some angry lyrics.

Now the critics of the Occupy Wall Street Movement say the Movement is without a message, but we know the truth – there are TOO MANY MESSAGES.

So I've put many of those messages into our song to help clarify why we support Occupy Wall Street and, more broadly, America's Middle Class.

 

The original song that "Middle Class Destruction" is based on is the 1960's classic protest anthem, "Eve of Destruction" written by P. F. Sloan. The songwriter is relatively unknown, even though he wrote many well-known rock n' roll songs of the 1960's and terrific folk-rock songs with profound introspective insights into human interaction and relationships. His most famous composition, "Eve of Destruction," sung by Barry McGuire, created the images that helped people articulate why they were uncomfortable with the direction America was heading at the time. We sincerely hope "Middle Class Destruction" has a similar result.
Those of us involved with the making of the "Middle Class Destruction" music video hope you'll listen to the wonderful songs of P. F. Sloan through his CD entitled "Here's Where I Belong - The Best of the Dunhill Years 1965-1967" available through Amazon.com. The original version of "Eve of Destruction" is on this musical compilation CD and it's a masterpiece.