Politically charged anti-war song motivated by the events of 9/11 and the subsequent US invasion of Afghanistan
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Story behind the song
After the terrible murders on 9/11 the people of New York City put up memorials of the dead throughout the streets. The New York Times printed photographs of the maimed and gave some biographical information so we could more properly mourn the innocent victims of this terrorist atrocity. This was proper, certainly. I wonder what would happen if we did the same thing for the innocent victims of American bombs in Afghanistan. Some 3,000 civilians were killed between October 2001 and March 2002 as a result of the American invasion. If we placed their photos, their biographies in the New York Times as well, we might be less inclined to favor their killing in our name. Innocent people die in war. You can't avoid it but by avoiding war itself. That's basically the meaning behind the song. If we let the victims define terrorism, the worldview is much different from what it is now.