Just War Theory

Live by the sword
Die by the sword
Say you want peace
But forever make war
Freedom ain’t free
Better aim for the core
But freedom ain’t freedom
If you killin’ the poor (2x)

Would you die for what you believed at 18?
Do you trust your teenage perception of complexities
Of self
Of God
Of Good and evil
Right and wrong
Truth
Love
Global Economy
Foreign Relations
Just War Theory
Did you even know what those terms meant back then?
Armed forces recruits youth to fight wars of cowardly men
Three years too young to be trusted with a margarita
But Uncle Sam handin’ teenagers guns
Children deployed to front lines
At the command of a commander in chief
They were too young to vote for
Killin’ poor folk they do not know
Over conflicts they do not understand
And when they die
We thank them for their service
Drape patriotism over their casket
And claim they sacrificed for freedom’s sake
I for one am not grateful
I grieve for the loss of life
But they ain’t die for my freedom
If you die for America, you die for a nation
That still treats me sub-human
Fallen soldiers are victims, not heroes
Victims of a government that sends their young and poor to early graves
All because old men are stuck in their ways
Willing to sacrifice other people’s lives to
Maintain power and privilege
Running to war as a first resort
Not creative enough to dream up other forms of conflict resolution
Unless of course THEY are the terrorists
The White knights lynching the innocent
Police brutalizing the citizens
Then they prefer peaceful protest
Then they believe nonviolent resistance to evil is effective
Sometimes I wonder if these wars were domestic
Would they think twice about bombing enemy lairs in residential areas
In Beverly Hills, in Time Square?
If civilian casualties were their own wives and children would they
Be eager to wage warfare?
Would they get better at diplomacy?
Learn how to compromise?
De-escalate tensions?
Learn to fight fire with water
War with peace
Stop spending billions on defense
And pour resource into foreign aid
Education and disaster relief
Make friends out of would-be enemies
Fight evil with poetry
Appoint Rappers as foreign ambassadors
‘Cause hip hop already united the atlas
Middle-eastern kids bumpin’ Chance and Kendrick
There is another way
No disrespect to vets with post-traumatic stress
Or soldiers who lost their life
But no one is a hero just ‘cause they fight
I am not grateful your service
I don’t know what you did on tour
Even aside from possible war crimes
I’m not sure if I believe in this war
But I am grateful you made it back alive
I do pray you find peace for your war-torn mind
I do pray you put down your weapon and realize
You can fight for freedom without killing for it
You can die for freedom without killing for it
That’s the only kind of freedom worth fighting for
Worth dying for
Worth living for
But if you live by the sword…

Live by the sword
Die by the sword
Say you want peace
But forever make war
Freedom ain’t free
Better aim for the core
But freedom ain’t freedom
If you killin’ the poor (3x)