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BEHIND ENEMY LINES LYRICS
"The Global Cannibal" (2003)
1. The Global Cannibal
2. What Did We Expect?
3. Advancing the Cause
4. As Long as I'm Safe
5. Hooked on Christ
6. Cycle of Violence
7. Self-Inflicted Extinction
8. Her Body. Her Decision?
9. The Army of God
10. The Politics of Hunger
11. Non-Lethal Weapons
12. Light It Up
1. The Global Cannibal
Importing oil exporting blood
We’ll take their barrels of oil by the barrel of a gun
Importing capital, exporting death
We’ll keep dropping our bombs until there’s none of them left
We don’t need actual evidence to seal a nation’s fate
just the promise of profit that their resources create
Unleashing our forces to preserve the American dream
by tapping their oil reserves to run our machines
We rule this world
We answer to no one
We’ve used the U.N. in the past to legitimize our crimes
but if they won’t stand with us now, then fuck them
We are the most powerful empire this world has ever seen
and we’ll have you either on your knees or under our heel
We’ll force you to disarm while our fingers on the button
to continue our reign as the worlds biggest gluttons
War propaganda plagues our country
American perception is not reality
Our leaders have a war mentality
We’re living in a war mentality
We feed on fear
We prey on weakness
We drop bombs on people in the name of freedom
We shower civilians with shells of depleted uranium
We want you disarmed
so you can’t resist us
when we liberate your land for American interests
The companies anxiously await their sound investment
War propaganda plagues our country
American perception is not reality
Our leaders have a war mentality
We’re living in a war mentality
We devour it all
We’re the global cannibal
With the brits by our side we’ll bomb them back into the Stone Age
to punish them for how uncivilized they are
Our superiority and first-world arrogance
entitle us to the double standards
elevating ourselves above criticism and consequence
and justifying anticipatory self defense
We see through your lies
You can stand on your own
We’re not with the terrorists,
we’re not with you and we’re not alone
You’re spilling blood to make oilmen richer
and redeem daddy for his miserable failure
but the people you’re killing, have a right to exist
We can’t let in come to this
War propaganda plagues our country
American perception is not reality
Our leaders have a war mentality
We’re living in a war mentality
2. What Did We Expect?
For over fifty years this country has submerged the world into shit
and now that we’ve been attacked, we’re full of disbelief and rage
but how can we possibly be surprised when all of these years
we’ve been just fucking asking for it
What did we expect when we manipulate the world economy?
What did we expect when we intimidate with our war technology?
What did we expect when we train terrorists if it’s in our interests?
What did we expect when we install puppet dictators to safeguard our investments?
Who’s really to blame for this senseless slaughter?
This country usually gets away with murder
And now that it’s come back to haunt us how do we react?
Our leaders try to convince us that this was an unprovoked attack
But a day doesn’t go by when we don’t do the same
This country’s foreign policy is just as much to blame
as those who have left the thousands of dead
by following the example of violence that America ’s led
What did we expect when our sanctions result in starving millions?
What did we expect when we anger the world by bombing civilians?
What did we expect when we police the world with our armed forces?
What did we expect when we strip the world of its natural resources
Who’s really to blame for this senseless slaughter?
This country usually gets away with murder
And now that it’s come back to haunt us how do we react?
Our leaders try to convince us that this was an unprovoked attack
But a day doesn’t go by when we don’t do the same
this country’s foreign policy is just as much to blame
as those who have left the thousands of dead
by following the example of violence that America ’s led
What did we expect when we tread on more foreign soil than any other armies?
What did we expect when we exploit slave labor in third world countries?
What did we expect when we monopolize the world market with our corporations?
What did we expect when our rich own more than most of the world’s population
3. Advancing the Cause
Bush backs out of the 1972 ABM treaty,
supposedly in the interests of national defense
Determined to resurrect Reagan’s nuclear monster
Ignoring the world tension that this action presents
Jerry Falwell had the nerve to place the blame
at the feet of feminists, abortionists, gays and lesbians
and the ACLU all of who have offended god
for attempting to secularize this “Christian-founded” nation
Pat Buchanan’s xenophobic posturing has only gotten louder
in calling for America to close all of our borders
Why is it that those with the lowest morality
are obsessed with trying to push their ideals on the rest of society?
In the midst of human tragedy the political games begin
Placing the blame on weak national defense and immigration
The political vultures have been busy manufacturing fear
and of course they have all the answers to make our problems disappear
Desensitized to the suffering and the thousands of lives lost
Capitalizing on the carnage to push their agenda through at any cost
Raising money and passing their laws
Exploiting the dead to advance their cause
How can this tragedy advance my cause?
How can this suffering advance my cause?
How can this fear advance my cause?
How can this body pile advance my cause?
Every safety measure these people offer is just another moral con
Taking advantage of uncertainty to manipulate us into pawns
Self-serving interests are sought without a single shred of decency
Holding violence over our heads and promising stability
To those with a political agenda this tragedy was a blessing in disguise
because now oppression is protection and dare not be scrutinized
Intolerance is now patriotism, the rising tide of nationalism
it’s been the unifying catalyst for country and religion
How can this tragedy advance my cause?
How can this suffering advance my cause?
How can this fear advance my cause?
How can this body pile advance my cause?
Desensitized to the suffering and the thousands of lives lost
Capitalizing on the carnage to push their agenda through at any cost
Raising money and passing their laws
Exploiting the dead to advance their cause
So we have another oilman in the Whitehouse, an absolute imbecile
Moral delinquents wear the cloth, Nazis on capital hill
You can see the excitement in their eyes, behind their crocodile tears
pushing their agendas, the ones they’ve pushed for years
but now seizing the opportunity by exploiting this catastrophe
while painting themselves as patriots to hide their petty bigotry
They champion their cause by climbing up the body pile
Becoming king of the hill has made this tragedy all worthwhile
How can this tragedy advance my cause?
How can this suffering advance my cause?
How can this fear advance my cause?
How can this body pile advance my cause?
4. As Long as I'm Safe
Once again america has chosen to keep its shut tight
Content in our national ignorance as long as all danger is kept out of sight
We don’t want to hear the reasons why this happened. We only want revenge
We only want to feel safe again and we’re all willing to pretend
that if we hunt down those responsible then the danger will disappear
and we won’t have to lock ourselves inside our homes, cowering in fear
But we must ready our nation’s defenses against more possible attacks
Our government is going to need our help to fight the terrorists whenever they come back
As long as I’m safe
I’ll give my government the power to decide what rights of mine to throw away
As long as I’m safe
I’ll support legislation giving those who already have too much power
just a little more
I’ll trade away my rights for my mind to be at peace
I’ll trade away my rights for a peaceful night of sleep
I’ll trade away my rights for the illusion of safety
I’ll trade away my rights for a false sense of security
As long as I’m safe
they can spy on me twenty-four hours a day,
erect video surveillance all over our communities
As long as I’m safe
I’ll succumb to phone tapping, unwarranted searches
and mandatory fingerprinting
I’ll trade away my rights to help our leaders get revenge
I’ll trade away my rights to make sure this will never happen again
I’ll trade away my rights for the illusion of safety
I’ll trade away my rights for a false sense of security
The bill of rights is null and void
An army of cops has been deployed
Every citizen is now a defendant
Illegal seizure of the fourth amendment
As long as I’m safe
I’ll support, without evidence, the bombing of any
country our leaders deem a threat
As long as I’m safe
I’ll ignore the suffering in the rest of the world
that our government is causing
I’ll trade away my rights to make sure these terrorists are stopped
I’ll trade away my rights to help put America back on top
I’ll trade away my rights for the illusion of safety
I’ll trade away my rights for a false sense of security
As long as I’m safe then it’s all been worth it
5. Hooked on Christ
I’m the newly appointed expert on the treatment of drug addiction
here to help the addicts to overcome through faith in religion
One man has been blessed with vision, by god in his infinite wisdom
so king George the second has generously bankrolled our glorious mission
Endless money will roll right in from this Christian right administration
thanks to George’s efforts, pushing faith based initiative legislation
The first steps towards taxpayer-funded conversion have now been made
We’re finally getting reimbursed what we deserve
to repay the price our savior paid
All of you hopeless addicts, drop that crutch and step right this way
Don’t forget to grab your bibles and together we’ll pray that addiction away
We’ll get you off of those addictive drugs by hooking you on Christ
and considering the blood that he spilled for you
six hundred million is a reasonable price
We’ll rip that monkey off your back to make room for Jesus Christ
Substitute that destructive habit with a more constructive vice
We’ve replaced professional counselors with prayer time and bible study
The GOP and Uncle Sam will now be remanding you to Jesus’ custody
As long as I have god’s healing power I have no need for medical training
Blind faith is all we really need to get the number of junkies waning
No more physical detox, we’ll combat withdrawal by reading scripture
Transforming sinners into respectable Christians
is all a part of the bigger picture
We’ll rip that monkey off your back to make room for Jesus Christ
Substitute that destructive habit with a more constructive vice
We’ve replaced professional counselors with prayer time and bible study
The GOP and Uncle Sam will now be remanding you to Jesus’ custody
We’ll be the saviors of these junkies to bring us closer to our lord and savior
for Christ’s sake that’s why George gave us the power
to teach them good behavior
And once they pass their test of will we’ll pass the collection plate
to help fund future causes to further bridge the gap between church and state
We’ll rip that monkey off your back to make room for Jesus Christ
Substitute that destructive habit with a more constructive vice
We’ve replaced professional counselors with prayer time and bible study
The GOP and Uncle Sam will now be remanding you to Jesus’ custody
6. Cycle of Violence
It’s the age-old conflict, the territorial dispute
Endless accusations flying about who has wronged who
Desperate determination to show no sign of weakness
The leaders take action while their people pay the consequences
Abandoning diplomacy, those in power unwilling to yield
Playing stupid fucking politics that just get people killed
Deciding that all out aggression is the best way to defend
so the cycle of violence starts all over again
It’s a bloodbath in the west bank
There is no end in sight
Both sides are so consumed with avenging death
that there’s no respect for life
Israeli soldiers are gunning down Palestinians
Murdering children for throwing stones
While Hamas is recruiting children to become martyrs
and murder more Israelis as suicide bombers
But the biggest obscenity of all of this hateful hostility
has been reducing through action and rhetoric into a subhuman enemy
The dehumanization of one another
has been the justification for the horrific brutality
It’s a bloodbath in the Gaza strip
There is no end in sight
Both sides are so consumed with avenging death
that there’s no respect for life
How many more?
How long?
Who’s right?
Who’s wrong?
Are they really so bloodthirsty in their hatred for the enemy
that they’re willing to disregard their own peoples safety?
They make their own people targets with every act of aggression
All in the name of teaching the enemy a lesson
Innocent people imprisoned by the violence that the conflict creates
Warmongers and butchers deciding everyone’s fate
How will there ever be peace with such human rights abuses?
When you dehumanize humans then all humanity loses
It’s a bloodbath in Bethlehem
There is no end in sight
Both sides are so consumed with avenging death
that there’s no respect for life
7. Self-Inflicted Extinction
The human race is committing self-inflicted extinction
Our actions are leading us down the path to annihilation
Our apathy is sealing our fate
We won’t care until it’s too late
Once we’re nearing extinction then we’ll finally learn
that there’s no turning back from our lack of concern
We’re killing entire species of animals
We’re contaminating the oceans with our poisons and our chemicals
When will we learn?
Our actions are leading us down the path to annihilation
We’re clear-cutting the landscapes with massive deforestation
We’re overburdening the planet with the human population
When will we learn?
Our actions are leading us down the path to annihilation
Once the natural resources are gone and the forests are uprooted
Once the air is unbreathable and the water is all polluted
Once we’ve scorched the planets surface and the food will no longer grow
Once the ecosystem’s been destroyed, where are we going to go?
The world is not a waiting room until some fictious after-life resumes
our role as infestations where we continue to consume
We don’t have access to another world where we can just move on
This planet’s our only chance at life and once it’s been destroyed it’s gone
The radioactive waste we dump will outlast generations
We elect the plunderers of the habitat who kill environmental legislation
When will we learn?
Our actions are leading us down the path to annihilation
We’re killing off everything in sight for our comfort and convenience
We’re destroying all possibilities for continuing our existence
When will we learn?
Our actions are leading us down the path to annihilation
Look around, what do you see?
Our very nature is destroying humanity
It isn’t the earth that needs our saving or help
It will survive to see us bury ourselves
8. Her Body. Her Decision?
When does a woman’s choice belong to her and not to man or myth?
When does a woman’s body belong to her and not to man or myth?
George w. Bush vowed to overturn Roe vs. Wade
by stacking the Supreme Court full of anti-choice advocates
While attorney general John Ashcroft swore to god
that he’d keep religion out of it
This bloodthirsty Texas governor, become illegitimate president,
has some fucking nerve to call himself pro-life
He embodies the hypocritical, ignorant, sexist thinking
that’s so typical of the religious right
It’s her body. It’s her decision
not that of state, man or religion
The “pro-life” movement is moral fraud
Fuck their lies and fuck their god
Our bodies are not a battlefield
Government and religion have proven throughout history
that they do not place value on the sanctity of life
To now call themselves “pro-life” drastically misstates the position
of those who are followers of a blood-soaked religion
Their fight is not about the sanctity of life
It’s more about control and a woman’s rightful role
and how they should adhere to living their lives under men’s supervision
and the churches moral restrictions and contradictions
It’s her body. It’s her decision
Not that of state, man or religion
The “pro-life” movement is moral fraud
Fuck their lies and fuck their god
Our bodies are not a battlefield
Should we once again return to the days of desperation
for women who would put their lives in jeopardy?
Going to extreme and dangerous measures
to end an unwanted pregnancy
Instead of women having rightful access
to a safe and legal medical procedure
Performed in a clean and sterile environment
by a trained, qualified and competent doctor
Without being intimidated, harassed or threatened
by the pitfalls of religious fanaticism
They exploit graphic, disgusting and misleading images
to play on people’s emotions and force their religion down our throats
By giving into this religious extortion
women will have to resort to back alley abortions
Are the women who will suffer from enforcing this restriction
really less important than fetus or fiction?
If you don’t agree with abortion then don’t fucking have one
But you have no right to govern someone else’s body
with your arrogant, self-righteous indignation
It’s her body. It’s her decision
not that of state, man or religion
The “pro-life” movement is moral fraud
Fuck their lies and fuck their god
Our bodies are not a battlefield
9. The Army of God
Religious zealots, self-proclaimed crusaders
God’s bigoted soldiers are nothing more than women-haters
Their beliefs and ideals are taken from the pages of the book of lies
and can be interpreted to any end, any agenda can be propagandized
So Christian soldiers, listen up as god instructs you all to kill and maim
and firebomb women’s health care clinics, enacting terror in his name
Employing ignorant, hateful rhetoric to dress their agenda up as fact
and justify their terrorism as a religiously sanctioned divine attack
Health care providers are threatened with slayings and mutilation
Women seeking medical help are subjected to harassment and intimidation
by sick extremists like Clayton Waagner, James kopp and the rev. Donald Spitz
I’m not interested in the twisted lies of morally bankrupt hypocrites
The army of god makes martyrs out of terrorists who kill and maim
The army of god is playing god, condemning others in his name
They actually believe that a woman who’s been raped should now be forced to bear a child
In their opinion her violation and unwanted pregnancy should be reconciled
There’s only one opinion that matters when it’s time to make that choice
and it doesn’t belong to a fictitious god
who supposedly speaks through a bigot’s voice
The army of god makes martyrs out of terrorists who kill and maim
The army of god is playing god, condemning others in his name
It’s painfully obvious that defending life is really not your goal
It’s all about suppressing women’s rights with hierarchal control
They embrace their sexist ideology with aspirations to oppress
So if these bigots represent a creation of gods, I’m really not impressed
They even denounce peaceful anti-choice activists as closet abortionists
Because if you’re not willing to kill for god or bomb health care clinics
then you apparently don’t understand how precious life really is
and how killing will illustrate that point in some twisted, confused show of justice
The army of god makes martyrs out of terrorists who kill and maim
The army of god is playing god, condemning others in his name
10. The Politics of Hunger
We’ve caused millions to starve just to try and achieve
special interest objectives
Inflicting economic ruin and mass starvation for political leverage
We’ll let them chew on our resolutions
We’ll force-feed them our biased conditions
We’ll watch them choke on our economic sanctions
while they starve
We’ve gotten fat on our power, our arrogant ability to stamp out life
Using food as a weapon, victimizing civilians who, we know, pay the price
We’ll let them chew on our resolutions
We’ll force-feed them our biased conditions
We’ll watch them choke on our economic sanctions
while they starve
We rule this world with an iron fist
but that’s the hand that feeds you
until you won’t comply with the new world order
then we’re the hand that bleeds you
Bow down to our nation or face starvation, we back up our threats
We have no regrets, restricting your ability to fill your own stomachs
We’ll let them chew on our resolutions
We’ll force-feed them our biased conditions
We’ll watch them choke on our economic sanctions
while they starve
Millions have died and it accomplished nothing
We let it happen and it accomplished nothing
11. Non-Lethal Weapons
With the United States and other first world powers
stepping up their efforts at globalization
One of their biggest obstacles has proven to be
the conscience resistance from the civilian population
Governments are closely working together with industry
utilizing the latest in “non-lethal” weaponry
Cracking down on dissent with domestic policing
“Learning from the riots of the 1990’s”
Identifying these so-called threats with political profiling
Targeting the organizers of political movements
under the guise of protecting the civilian populace
Public relations propaganda fuels these political witch-hunts
Demonizing protesters as violent terrorists
Allowing more repression and torture of the non-combatant
The lie that protesters causing violence is the actual threat
is beat into the heads of the American public
Neutralize the threat
Eliminate the threat
Neutralize the threat
Eliminate
The pentagon and the D.O.D. are using “non-lethal” munitions
for social control and American corporate global domination
Inciting violence with riot control agents
Civilizing the brutality that protesting now warrants
but where’s the civility in unrestrained brutality
Those killed by “non-lethal” weapons aren’t any less dead
and the murderers who are responsible aren’t any less accountable
be it politicians, businessmen or the soldiers in their stead
Neutralize the threat
Eliminate the threat
Neutralize the threat
Eliminate
If they don’t ever have to answer for what they do
then they’re free to make an example out of you
with their chemicals agents, vortex weapons
hallucinogens, pulse lasers, optical munitions
Weapons that induce confusion, stupor and coma
or debilitate your central nervous system
Cause nausea, bowel spasms, paralysis, seizure
heat your skin to an unbearable temperature
Burning, crippling, deforming, killing
immobilizing, disabling, incapacitating,
All committed over a safety net of legality
but masking the language to conceal the lethality
12. Light It Up
Immersed in political strategies
Government policies create endless catastrophes
and we all pay the price
when our movement becomes stagnant, anchored by apathy
We can’t just give up, we can’t just give in
There are no wasted attempts when it comes to action
The smallest act could cause a chain reaction
that could bring this entire system down
Light it up
Ignite a spark
Every single action could be the start
Light it up
Ignite a spark
It will take all of our efforts to get out of the dark
You could be the one
that offers hope and inspiration
to everyone who feels defeated
and moves the depleted towards motivation
and helps the flame continue to burn
The most important thing that we still need to learn
is that we’re in this together, don’t shut out one another
Don’t ever forget that we depend on each other
Light it up
Ignite a spark
Every single action could be the start
Light it up
Ignite a spark
It will take all of our efforts to get out of the dark
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