There has always been this sneaking suspicion
There's something critical we've missed
More connected than ever before
Yet we are all dying of loneliness
The trap was set; we've trusted a deception
As if there weren't fullness of life without incorporation
Into these churning and violent systems
(Outrage without information
Has left our spirits in shambles
Clanging cymbals, mindless babble)
We skirt around the issue
No matter how immensely prevalent
Everyone's so scared to breathe a word
No one wants to mention it
That after all they've sacrificed
We'd rather trust a fucking screen
Than sit in tactful humility
Discourse with a human being
Instead of thinking for ourselves
We'd rather be fed what to believe
They won't know what's on our hearts
Until it stops beating in our chest
Won't wait to see what's on our mind
Until it exits the back of our heads

Those sworn to protect us have become our captors
One-stop judge, jury, and executioner
Granted license to take a life without giving chase
Youth cut down in its prime
Oh G-d, what a fucking waste
The next morning, I read the stories of the brutal murder of the two police officers. I also read the witness's statement about the bullets having no effect upon the killer. I felt sorry for the witness. [?] I thought about how easily a person's mind could become confused when suddenly they receive a brutal shot. I didn't believe a man existed who could not be stopped by a slug from a .45

You took a solemn oath, placed your hand on that Bible
Pledged your protection and service
To adorn yourself in courage
Craven hands, dutifully raised
To uphold truth and justice
Would rather bend the knee to fear
Instead of flex that muscle between their ears
Coward, pull that trigger with haste
I'll fire back with my words and a raised fist

Those sworn to protect us have become our captors
Don't make idiots your idols; so many bow down to fools
Strutting around like crownless kings
Raving mad aristocrats, crippled by insecurity
They prey upon the weak, both in will and mind
Preaching that compliance is peace
That the walls they'll build will bring sanctuary
Masses, blinded by fear, clutch and grab for stability
But one day, we'll look up and see the walls and wire
Our monoliths of false safety
And realize that our battlements have only served to shut us in
Stone only hardens our hearts
Isolation only constricts our souls
Hatred dominates when we refuse to see the other as our own
(We are still here)
Were we ever truly free?