“Consent Under Threat”
Verse 1
I worked my whole adult life, did everything straight
Thirty years on the clock, never tempted fate
Income tax, payroll tax, property tax too
Every dollar I touched already passed through you
They say it’s the law, but they never explain
Just forms and fear and the threat of pain
No clear contract, no honest choice
Just comply or lose your voice
Pre-Chorus
They don’t teach this in school
They don’t talk it through
They just say “pay up”
Or we come for you
Chorus
They say it’s legal, they say it’s right
But it never feels like consent when it’s backed by might
We don’t vote on the checks, we don’t see the trail
We just carry the weight while the watchdogs fail
Freedom doesn’t come free, I was told my whole life
But this feels like obedience enforced by the knife
Verse 2
They point to the codes, buried deep and wide
Volumes of law nobody reads inside
Sixteenth Amendment, words set in stone
But tell me why it feels like I never chose this loan
They say “you owe it by law,” not by the line you sign
The signature’s just proof you survived this time
Liability written before your pen hits the page
A system built like a maze and guarded by a cage
Pre-Chorus
If it’s so fair, why hide it in ink?
If it’s so just, why punish the brink?
Chorus
They say it’s legal, they say it’s clean
But legality ain’t the same as being seen
We don’t audit the waste, we don’t jail the fraud
We just trust the system like it’s some kind of god
Freedom doesn’t come free, but neither does theft
And we’re the ones paying what’s left
Verse 3
Fraud in the programs, headlines fade
Billions vanish, no one pays
Food stamps gamed, corporations bailed
Different rules for different scales
We send money overseas, wars we never chose
While our towns break down and nobody knows
USAID, black budgets, aid with no trail
But miss a payment here and they threaten jail
Bridge (spoken / slow)
They call it the Federal Reserve
But it’s not federal, and it doesn’t reserve
A private system, debt by design
Interest on money created from time
We didn’t vote on this structure
We didn’t sign this deal
But try to step outside it
And they show you what’s real
Verse 4
Where’s the bailout for the working man?
For the backs that bent to hold this land?
We tax the rich, we tax the poor
But somehow justice never makes it to the door
We ask where the money goes
They say “trust us,” close the doors
We ask for audits, we ask for light
They call us crazy for asking “why”
Final Chorus (anthem style)
You can say it’s legal, you can say it’s law
But law without consent is a permanent flaw
We’re not refusing duty, we’re demanding truth
We’re tired of being milked from our labor and youth
Freedom doesn’t come free—but neither does lies
And a nation won’t stand when the truth is disguised
Outro
This ain’t a call to run or hide
It’s a call to look the system in the eye
We pay. We work. We carry the load.
Now show us honesty—or change the code.
-JL