Constable Dionne

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Constable Dionne, you came to our class
Once a year, every year
With your cop hat
And your cop uniform

Constable Dionne, you came to us
To teach us right from wrong
With your cop moustache
And your cop badge
And your little Zip-Loc bags
Spread out across the desk

"Gather round kids, take a look
Know what these are?"
Cocaineheroinmarijuanaelesdee
In little tiny Zip-Loc bags

"What do we do when we're offered these?"
"Just say no..."
 "What do we do when we find these on the beach?"
"Just say no..."
 "What do we do?"
"Just say no..."

Constable Dionne, you came to us
To teach us a lesson
To prepare us for the world
With your unblinking eyes
And your unchanging message
Like a mantra:

Just say no...
Just say no...
Just say no...
Just say? No!
Just? C'est non!
Just sane? Oh!
Just say "know".
Just...
Say...
Know...

Know?
Ah, but you knew, Constable Dionne, didn't you?
And Nancy Reagan knew
And Cliff Huxtable and Alex P. Keaton knew
And G. I. Joe knew
"...and knowing is half the battle."

But what was the other half of the battle?
Big kids with bags in their lockers?
Old men on the street near the schoolyard?
Men offering us rides in their cars?

This was war, Constable Dionne
And you were our commander
Knowledge was our weapon
We were the soldiers
Fighting to the death
For the war on drugs
The waaaaaaaaar on druuuuuggggggssss...

"Just say no"
And everything will be all right
"Just say no"
And you will be a success in life

Constable Dionne, sometimes I think you lied to me
"Just say no" wasn't enough
"Just say no" didn't get me a good job
"Just say no" didn't get me a nice car
"Just say no" didn't get me a beautiful wife

But back then everything was simple
Everything was basic
Right/wrong, good/bad, yes/no, black/white

Times are different, Constable Dionne
We have other wars to fight now
If you were here, what would you tell me?
What would you teach kids today?

Terrorism? Just say no?
Global warming? Just say no?
Nuclear proliferation? Just say no?
The slow death of our families and our communities and our nations and our civilisations? Just say no?

Constable Dionne, sometimes I wonder
If your message was the right message
If your mantra was the right mantra
Just say no?
 Don't just say -
Know...

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