The After Effect

Keith Andersen:
Hi welcome to Channel 9 news I'm Keith Andersen
There's some major breakthroughs going on in Walden
And a lot to recap for those who just tuned in
Walden farmers signed with Raleigh's Tobacco Company
In a measure to preserve the town's economy
But the bulk of the wealth went to the CEOs at Raleigh
So Neil Zimmerman unionized the farm hands
And sent a message to Raleigh of their demands
But this simple act cost them their jobs and their lands
Exploited, unemployed and homeless contributed to higher economic unrest
Deprived of power and means they salted their former farms in protest
Now Raleigh's Company will lose profits buying new land in which to invest

New Jobs

Thoreau:
I found a new job with decent pay
In a town just fifty miles away
We can pack and be there today
Fossey:
Do you know if Neil and Pegi will make it okay
Is there a place for them to stay
Thoreau:
For now they're going to live with his brother in Green Bay
Unfortunately there's not much agricultural opportunity
As it is we're both moving to a bigger city
But at least they're both a green community

Paths

Pegi:
Now that, that is done where do we go from here?
Farmer Neil:
The answer to that is never really clear
You just got to prepare to face the fear
Thoreau:
Whatever will be will just be
We are not the masters of reality
We choose our paths without seeing the destiny

Pegi's Lament

Pegi:
Goodbye my dear Walden
And to all the memories held in
Did our innocence have to end?
Fossey:
The innocence had already died
Evil converted good men to the dark side
Now in lamentation penance is applied

Salt March

Thoreau:
We will make sure tobacco production comes to a halt
We shall pour on our polluted land twelve trucks full of salt
The chemical waste planted in the dirt already shows who's at fault
Farmer Neil:
Tobacco bamboozled us out of our land
Forced into a situation we couldn't understand
Where our lives we mistrusted in their command
We've poisoned Mother Earth
And she can now no longer give birth
We mistook her and what she's worth
Thoreau:
So the salt is for the mourning of the unborn
A reminder to us what we've yet to learn
And until the day we do we are doomed and forlorn

Wives

Pegi:
Fossey did you hear what Thoreau and Neil planned today?
They're going to ruin the fields with a dozen salt trunks on their way
Fossey:
Yeah a national stunt to get the nation to hear what we have to say
Pegi:
You're okay with our farm's desecration?
Fossey:
It's not desecration it's a demonstration
Anyway the soil's tainted by the chemicals of that evil corporation
The soil's already unfit to grow vegetable produce
Raleigh saw to it tobacco would be it's only use
We are not destroying something we didn't already lose

Carthage

Thoreau:
Hey Neil how is it going looking for a new location?
Farmer Neil:
That depends on if I can get a new vocation
Thoreau:
What about your original avocation
Farmer Neil:
Farmers today can't get enough work in the independent market
And corporations really don't learn to forgive and forget
And every industry has tobacco ties who deem me a threat
Thoreau:
Well when in Rome do as the Romans I say
Salt the ground like Carthage you've lost it anyway
You may not take down tyrants but you don't have to obey
Farmer Neil:
You're right they may now legally own the land
But they still have no authority to demand
Everything they got was at our command

Legal Theft

Thoreau:
Something is wrong with the world today
If a company can just take another man's life away
Any lone criminal would of had hell to pay
But the laws protect mafias, pirates and mobs
As they steal another's wealth by taking their jobs
Larceny is lawful depending on who robs
But now's the time this is the hour
I see the dangers from the watchtower
Now is the changing of the guards a changing of power

Legal Advice

Thoreau:
So Mr Dawson do you think we have a case?
Mr Dawson:
How would you pay my legal fee in the first place?
Thoreau:
Isn't that question a little off base?
Anyway you said we can pay when we win
Mr Dawson:
Well we won't we've lost before we can begin
Thoreau:
A worthy cause is still worth the time to invest in
Mr Dawson:
Thoreau you can't make a living on a worthy cause
I know of all the legal torts and read every contract clause
And on all technical levels the company obeyed all the bylaws

Failure

Farmer Neil:
Things are not going as we predicted
Every farmer in the union just got evicted
Thoreau:
But your contract didn't imply unions were restricted
Farmer Neil:
No but thanks to that corporate shill
We were all signed and hired at will
They can fire and evict without any obligations to fulfill
Thoreau:
So basically they can fire you all anytime they feel
That doesn't sound like a legal deal
We could get a lawyer to file an appeal
Farmer Neil:
And how would we pay for the legal fee
I'm going to appeal to the tobacco company
See if they'd consider rehiring me

CEO Meeting

Raleigh:
Hello my fellow CEOs sorry about the ACLU's backlash
But our product is fool proof against a market crash
It's more addictive than heroine, users would find boycotts too rash
CEO #1:
All the same we have union busters to appeal for government investigation
This isn't our first proletariat instigation
CEO #2:
But if we make this political non-smokers can provoke new litigation
CEO #3:
Not likely since we live in a constant state of social apathy
Citizens don't care what's allowed as long as it doesn't hurt their own liberty
We can continue to sell death in the spirit of living free

Agricultural Cultivation Laborers Union

Thoreau:
Welcome to the Agricultural Cultivation Laborers Union
We are uploading this video on the web so the world can tune in
I'm not a farmer but have access to the conditions they are working in
This is farmer and president Neil Zimmerman
He's going to outline the union's goals and its plan
Farmer Neil:
Thank you Thoreau these are the goals of a years time span
The tobacco companies promise high wages as an incentive to grow
But when every farmer at the poverty line tries the wages drop low
But addiction still costs a fortune for those using the tobacco
So the ACLU district 36 is on a mission
That farmers always get paid on commission
And get government grants for those farming cheaper crops on a moral decision
And we recommend a state maximum acreage to grow tobacco on
And the farmers willing can rotate on that opportunity every season
So that economically and ecologically everyone's helped within reason

The Union

Farmer Neil:
Hey Thoreau I'm sorry about how I talked to you
Everything you said was right and I knew
But in desperation I hoped it wasn't true
Thoreau:
It may be true but it got me fired
And all the fightings just left me tired
And a burnt out man is seldom hired
Farmer Neil:
Perhaps you could help with my new enterprise
I'm trying to get the farmers to unionize
Thoreau:
Well that certainly is a surprise
But I hate tobacco so why ask me?
Farmer Neil:
Because from within unions regulate the industry
They can't sell our products without our productivity
Thoreau:
And if they evict you from their land
They can't meet the supply and demand
So their profits are at your command

Neil's Lament

Pegi:
Hey how's your crop growing Neil?
Farmer Neil:
I think I was suckered into a crooked deal
At least our other crops never made us lose a meal
Pegi:
What about the paycheck from Raleigh's Company?
Farmer Neil:
Everything I thought was free
Came with a hidden fee
Instead of a mortgage we have rent
And every seed and chemical is taken out of our payment
We may have a home but not a cent

Spousal Support

Fossey:
Did you tell Rachel that you were unemployed?
Thoreau:
No its been a bad day she's already annoyed
If I told her we had to move she'd be destroyed
Fossey did I ever disappoint you?
Fossey:
How could you when you always fight for what is true?
Thoreau:
You mean what happens to be our point of view
Fossey:
No reality and reason are on our side
It is by that truth that we abide
You can't lose when they can't take your pride

After School

Thoreau:
Hey honey what happened at school today?
Rachel:
Some things I'd rather not say
Can I just go out to play?
Thoreau:
Sure but first just relax
I just want to know the facts
Rachel:
Well today I was reading them The Lorax
Thoreau:
Well that's a very fine book
Rachel:
Not when everyone's giving you a dirty look
Thoreau:
Well I appreciate the courage you took
Rachel:
The teacher said I was naive to believe that hippie philosophy
And that I shouldn't think so evil of industry
And everyone in class seems to completely agree
Thoreau:
Neither me, you or Dr. Seuss said all industry is bad
Rachel:
But they said we were hypocrites which made me mad
They said your views were corrupting me Dad
Thoreau:
Never mind what they say
You did the right thing today
Now you can go out and play

Father/Daughter

Rachel:
Daddy are you feeling well?
Thoreau:
Oh hello there Rachel
No I'm not how could you tell?
Rachel:
I'm seven I'm not dumb
My question is how come?
Thoreau:
The town's in danger and they don't see the problem
The economy's in trouble and they think tobacco's the answer
But what happens when the pollution gives them cancer
The medical bills alone would make things worse than before
Rachel:
Daddy I miss Grandpa too
But you can't let it destroy you
Thoreau:
Then what am I suppose to do

No Help

Thoreau:
Am I the only one who finds it obscene
To live in a town of cigarettes and gasoline
The EPA ain't helping things go green
Deforestation is wasting the assets of our economy
To destroy the resources of our local ecology
Consumers and workers dying young and poor are just yet to be

Quitting

The Gazette Editor:
Thoreau I need you in my office right away
Thoreau:
I'm sensing you have some bad news to say
The Gazette Editor:
It's about your editorial yesterday
It vilified that new tobacco company
In this kind of town it has a certain economy
That relies on that form of industry
Thoreau:
What happened to the other forms of agriculture?
The Gazette Editor:
Tobacco is the only crop making money anymore
Thoreau:
Then what's selling over at the grocery store?
The Gazette Editor:
It's not keeping us afloat in ad revenue
At least not like tobacco is willing to do
So you better just quit if you don't change your point of view
Thoreau:
Well then consider this my resignation
Because I won't stay for any sort of compensation
I never wanted to work for a tobacco corporation

Warnings

Thoreau:
I already smell something evil in the air
A scent of danger in a world that doesn't care
Apathy can cause things courage couldn't dare
I've alerted the town in the local gazette
That this move is something to regret
But they haven't seen the signs yet
I have to try the Mayor again
But the secretary won't let me in
Just another battle I couldn't win