I beg defiance of all oppressive states I beg defiance 
for all those kept in line It's time to rearrange all 
forces that try to contain
They've always justified power struggles while helpless 
die
Six million Jews, they call it genocide One hundred 
million Native Americans, what an unfortunate price 
What about the culture in the hills,
Tibetan people brutally killed Land of the free is that 
what you like to see
America's "immigrants" compared to disease Mahogany 
considered luxury While Brazilian tribes are being 
brought to their knees We fuel the oppression The blood 
is on our hands Compassion is sacrificed for ignorance 
That's the price we pay for convenience
The enemy is everywhere. It's in the gas we pump (duh, 
we already know automobiles and petroleum companies 
aren't making any positive contributions to the 
environment), in the soda we drink (good ole' pepsi 
spent quite a bit of time supporting the military 
dictatorship of Burma), and in any pre-packaged product 
we consume (that fancy, plastic wrapping ain't 
magically wrapping other items; it's filling up the 
landfills, maybe to biodegrade within the next thousand 
years). Of course we know this list goes on and on and 
on...
Perhaps more important than writing letters to fucking 
dumb ass profit-minded businessmen and leaving 
answering machine messages for self-seeking 
congressmen, is the realization that everything is 
political; every action we take has political 
consequences. This means that what kind of shoes I buy, 
what kind of food I eat, and what kind of job I have 
all come with political consequences. The trouble is 
recognizing this connection; because, often, thousands 
of miles separate the cause from the effect. At first 
glance, it doesn't seem like my personal decision to 
drive an automobile would have anything to do with a 
residential neighborhood in the town Aleksinac, Serbia. 
But I pay property tax on that automobile and the 
American government uses that money (without consulting 
me first, I might add) to build and deliver an air bomb 
that reduced Aleksinac to a pile of rubble. Identifying 
these many connections and developing ways to deal with 
them is the essence of political change.
I do whatever possible, whenever possible not to 
finance those motherfuckers. I shoplift, not only to 
strike a small (probably minuscule) blow against 
everything fucked up with big business, but also to 
make sure I'm not going to have to spend as many hours 
of my life at some shit job to support the things I 
loathe. Becoming thrifty and losing the desire to own 
ten thousand superfluous products also plays an 
integral role. You know, shopping at thrift stores and 
yard sales, not only for great bargains, but also for 
the purpose of recycling, are small ways we can change 
the way we live that will produce more agreeable 
political consequences. So much great stuff is thrown 
away before we take advantage of its complete 
potential. We can also utilize our friendships in our 
community. Openly sharing with one another is not only 
a chance to be courteous with one another, but also an 
opportunity not to spend money on the same things, 
reducing consumption and the eventual waste from 
another goddamn garden shovel or washing machine.
Even if the little ways we change our lives does not 
produce immediate results (one less piece of furniture 
sold is not enough to convince Georgia Pacific to end 
their destruction of South American rainforest), there 
is another reason. Even if I can't change the entire 
world into what I want it in one afternoon, I know that 
I can change my entire world. Maybe my decision to 
never drink coffee will not bring peace to Latin 
America right away, but that same decision can bring a 
small fragment of special light and warmth into a cold 
and dark world. That fragment of light and warmth is 
what this song is about.