There's so much I could say about this subject. I guess I can start by explaining the general sentiment of the lyrics. They're written as a criticism of hyper-patriotism, particularly in the church; the tendency of many people I've encountered throughout my life to conflate the Kingdom of God with the United States of America. You may read that and think, "Does anyone actually do that?" but it happens more than many evidently realize.
I am an American, and I am grateful for that. I certainly recognize it as a tremendous blessing in many ways. I don't, however, believe that where I was born makes me inherently superior to anyone else or somehow more deserving of God's favor. I believe America's greatness has always been and will always be directly contingent upon the country's orientation toward our Creator and His expressed will.
That's a little context. Now without further ado, the lyrics:
Long endure the rule
Heirs of the covenant, the chosen few
Architects of the promised land
These lyrics are written somewhat sarcastically, and from the perspective of someone with the frame of mind I mentioned earlier. I intentionally used religious/Biblical language. I've heard a great deal of believers read verses in the Old Testament that are addressing Israel as if they were specifically about the United States. Obviously many of the principles and lessons we can learn from the plight of the Israelites laid out in the Bible has direct application in our own time, and the truths of the scriptures are transcendent, but America simply is not God's "chosen nation".
Kneel before the dream
Honor in word what we will desecrate in deed
Rejecting all for which it stands
These lines are intended to emphasize the irony of so many people valuing America as some nebulous concept while being unjust and cruel toward the very people of whom it's comprised. ". . . for which it stands" is a reference to the pledge of allegiance. There are some who care more about the flag itself than for the nation of human beings who even give it its value to begin with.
All hail the glory of the kingdom come
You know there's just no place like home
Again, deliberately religious language. America has been blessed in many ways, but it is certainly not the kingdom of God on Earth.
I earned this right divine at birth
That blessed sign of greater worth
Chosen by dirt
These lines are also written sarcastically. I tried to put in more direct terms the beliefs that underlie a perspective of superiority based on the physical location of one's birth.
Leave them all to bleed
Unto the worthy, let freedom ring
The rest be damned
Death unto all who would the throne oppose
You know there's just no place like home
Over the years, I've heard many variations of "Just kill them all" or "Let them die" directed at people unfortunate enough to be born outside of the country I'm in. One element to consider, of course, is that it is admittedly easy to disregard faceless people (people you don't know personally and will likely never see) as less human or alive than one's self. I certainly don't believe these words or how flippantly they've sometimes been used accurately reflect the heart of every person who may have spoken them. But even so, what a terrible way to look at things and our fellow man, especially on the part of people who claim even the slightest understanding of Christ's love for the world.
With heaven on our side, our avarice to serve
I pity every other on the earth
Chosen by dirt
It's tempting for some to regard God as some omnipotent force that exists primarily to serve us, the default "good guys". A quote attributed to Abraham Lincoln that I think very effectively addresses this kind of assumption: "Sir, my concern is not whether God is on our side; my greatest concern is to be on God's side, for God is always right."
Oh, but I don't see it like you do
Can't take what wasn't mine to lose
Oh, no desperation for control
I saw the end so long ago
These were written specifically about the idea that Christians need to obtain political power, and at any cost. I once heard someone warning believers in America of their political opposition's resolve to take away our "rights as Christians". The thing is, Christ's promises don't have anything to do with freedom to congregate unpunished or speaking the truth without consequence in a world that despises Him. These are definitely things for which I am grateful, and I would even say worth striving to have and to keep. But the promise of the Gospel is infinitely greater, and one that no person on Earth could ever hope to thwart. Jesus's very own disciples didn't enjoy any of the freedoms we do in relation to our faith in Him. Their faith and simply speaking the truth cost them more than we can even accurately imagine, including a violent death in almost every instance, and yet their focus was never establishing a stronghold in the political system of the day. They suffered. They died. And, through Christ, they won. I have no fear of any government or law or leader taking away the victory that was won for me at Calvary.
Though ashes black the sky
The lesson yet unlearned
An empire ascending in reverse
Into the dirt
Cycles. Societies rise and fall. The work and the systems of man thrive for a time, only to ultimately crumble. Microcosms of the same reality are likely observable in your own life, and certainly are in mine. I believe in many ways that we are witnessing the decline of our society, coinciding quite logically with our rejection of and neglect for many of the truths and precepts on which it was originally founded.
This transcends it all: There is a kingdom that will never fail. There is a King above all Kings. Let Him forever be my peace and source of hope.
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