Humanity has come so far and accomplished so very much. Through ingenuity, discipline and determination many people around the globe are able to live comfortable and rewarding lives.

Oftentimes the improvement in the quality of life of one person has come at the expense of the freedom or quality of life of another. The phrase, "to the victor goes the spoils", has found its validation time and again throughout human history.

Despite the cruelty of imperialism, and the realities of the fight for survival, our numbers have swelled into the billions. This fact alone should prove that human nature isn't inherently brutal, and that we are totally capable of living together in peace and harmony.

Every example of our being selfish and bellicose can be met by examples of our being charitable and compassionate. Each and every day there are multiple opportunities for those near and far to rob, hurt or kill us. Yet, for the most part the vast majority of interactions we have with others are benign or magnanimous.

Despite the fact that the majority of human beings are kind and well intentioned in their day -to-day lives, war, fear and hatred seem to dominate the collective actions of nations.

This song focuses on my sense of personal repugnance and moral nausea at how we treat our fellow man in the realm of international relations. Most of my ire is in how tolerant we've become of such maltreatment on a global scale.

So much suffering and pain
Most of which we could end in a day
Power lies to maximize its gains
We others just nod a tacit OK

Even though I am highly appreciative of the quality of my own life, I can become physically ill when I think of the plight of others.

I’ve fought a fever all day
My clothes are drenched in sweat
I shiver, my head pounds with pain
I struggle hard to stay sane

No matter how easy it is to ignore, or to justify our actions through fear and hatred, I just can't do so for any great length of time.

This is what happens when I don’t turn away
Look at starvation and war in the face
How we treat each other is such a disgrace
Torture and famine should never take place with our grace

I call upon my contemporaries to likewise to expect and demand that our leaders act on our behalf in ways that respect and promote dignity for all.

How can we stomach such moral decay?
Let stand our leaders who rape and complain
Parrot their slogans which their actions betray
Explain away aggression and justify hate in our name

When you consider how much pain and suffering we've conquered through working together for the common good we surely can take the next step and insure a good life for everyone on the planet. The major part of human history has been in increasing the number of people we feel a brotherhood with. We have and we can continue to replace "us" and "them" with "we".

I close my eyes to say
We can change in many ways

I’ll say it again and again
We can reclaim our humanity
We can reclaim generosity
We can reclaim our humanity