So this has been.my favorite song of OTEP's since it came out in 2004, and I always thought it was a song about a child's narrative of suffering in an abusive Christian home. But now that I am revisiting the lyrics, I am seeing something totally new.
This song could be gospel of John but from the perspective of Jesus.
Jesus was NOT having a good time up to and during the crucifixion. Everyone in the known world at the time looked to him with fear, admiration or disgust and he was constantly being asked questions. He spoke in "verses, prophesies and curses". He had made an enemy of the state, and believed the world was increasingly wicked and fallen from grace, or that he was in the "mouth of madness".
The spine of atlas is the structure that allows the titan to hold the world up. Jesus challenged the state and in doing so became a celebrated resistance figure. It also made him public enemy #1.
All of this happened simply because he was doing his thing, not because of any agenda he had or strategy.
And then he gets scourged (storm of thorns)
There are some plot holes here but I think it's an interesting interpretation.
Hey sit down and listen and they'll tell you when you're wrong
Eradicate but vindicate as progress creeps along
Puritan work ethic maintains its subconscious edge
As Old Glory maintains you consciousness
There's a loser in the house and a puppet on a stool
And a crowded way of life and a black reflecting pool
And as the people bend the moral fabric dies
Then the country can't pretend to ignore its people's cries
Cause you are the government
You are jurisprudence
You are the volition
You are jurisdiction
And I make a difference too
Eradicate but vindicate as progress creeps along
Puritan work ethic maintains its subconscious edge
As Old Glory maintains you consciousness
There's a loser in the house and a puppet on a stool
And a crowded way of life and a black reflecting pool
And as the people bend the moral fabric dies
Then the country can't pretend to ignore its people's cries
Cause you are the government
You are jurisprudence
You are the volition
You are jurisdiction
And I make a difference too
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Bad Religion are not anarchists, unfortunately...