Three branches of government, Schoolhouse Rock style
For those who don’t remember Schoolhouse Rock, it was a series of educational, yet entertaining, animated musical clips inserted into Saturday morning cartoons. You see (putting on my granny voice) back in the days before cable and satellite and streaming on-demand video, the only time you could watch cartoons was on Saturday morning between about 5 a.m. and 10 a.m.
Saturday cartoons went great with pajamas and sugary cereal eaten in the living room in front of a TV you weren’t supposed to sit too close to because it would “ruin your eyes.” In between cartoons like The Pink Panther and Scooby-Doo and Captain Caveman, Schoolhouse Rock stuffed some educational material into our sugar-addled brains.
There’s an entire generation of Americans who know the entire preamble to the U.S. Constitution but can’t say it without singing it. Blame Schoolhouse Rock. We also learned multiplication tables, how a bill becomes a law, the names of the planets, the human skeletal system, and the parts of speech in the English language, to name a few.
I heard one this week I don’t remember. I’m a bit horrified by its metaphorical accuracy in describing our modern government. Click the link to watch it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-EISWIY9bG8, and for everyone else, here are the lyrics. In short, the executive branch is the ringleader of the circus, the legislative branch is a literal clown car, and the judicial branch is the wild animal tamer. Have a chuckle. Or a good cry.
Gonna have a three-ring circus someday,
People will say it’s a fine one, son.
Gonna have a three-ring circus someday,
People will come from miles around.
Lions, tigers, acrobats, and jugglers and clowns galore,
Tightrope walkers, pony riders, elephants, and so much more…
Guess I got the idea right here at school.
Felt like a fool when they called my name,
Talkin’ about the government and how it’s arranged,
Divided in three like a circus.
Ring one, Executive,
Two is Legislative, that’s Congress.
Ring three, Judiciary.
See it’s kind of like my circus, circus.
Step right up and visit ring number one.
The show’s just begun. Meet the President.
I am here to see that the laws get done.
The ringmaster of the government.
On with the show!
Hurry, hurry, hurry to ring number two.
See what they do in the Congress.
Passin’ laws and juggling bills,
Oh, it’s quite a thrill in the Congress.
Focus your attention on ring number three.
The Judiciary’s in the spotlight.
The courts take the law and they tame the crimes
Balancing the wrongs with your rights.
No one part can be
more powerful than any other is.
Each controls the other you see,
and that’s what we call checks and balances.
Well, everybody’s act is part of the show.
And no one’s job is more important.
The audience is kinda like the country you know,
Keeping an eye on their performance.
Ring one, Executive,
Two is Legislative, that’s Congress.
Ring three, Judiciary.
See it’s kind of like my circus, my circus.
Gonna have a three-ring circus someday.
People will say it’s a fine one son,
But until I get it, I’ll do my thing
With government. It’s got three rings.
Music and Lyrics by Lynn Ahrens, 1979
