Freedom was something we held a state funeral
for, September 12th, yet we hesitate to recall
Liberty got kidnapped in an unmarked van
never to be seen or heard from again
Justice blindfolded by paranoid agencies
who never slept 50 years thru World War III
A rude awakening after a decade of calm
to find the Spooks waiting in the wings all along
to start World War IV, fought wihout respect
by those who claim to Serve and Protect
A war being waged against Freedom itself
a fight for the future that needs some help
All it can get, if we don't want to regret
To repeat history, all must do is forget
Where no one else knows what to expect
such a Chilling Effect, always wondering who's next
The target list of a shadow war
that the rest of us are supposed to ignore
Names & faces that you never knew
They fought for your freedom, too
Prisoners of War
Some are people whose only crime
was being in the wrong place at the wrong time
Unpersoned, "disappeared" Soviet-style
"Rendered" to undisclosed locations while
politicians call for more
They were scapegoated & railroaded
right thru the System
to keep the news sugar-coated
against our better wisdom
we now ignore
All along, they've been keeping score
Got dragged and ushered out the back door
and nobody knows where they are anymore
or what they're even chained-up for
Prisoners of War
The truth is on life-support most of the time
from those who want the facts to be redefined
Truth is not libel, but a flimsy shield, one finds
when Free Speech is outpriced by legal gripes
SLAPPed it with the First Amendment fight of its life
No justice, just silence, when money decides
Big Lies with matching budgets and screentime
to sweep facts under the rug with bold headlines
when governments wage war on their own citizens
When it's a crime just to be a witness to them
cameras met with guns & belligerence
Made an entire industry of imprisonment
Investigators who got too close the real story
taken before they could reveal how much more we
don't know, witness to things that should be seen
stories that go untold on your TV screen
The target list of a shadow war
that the rest of us are supposed to ignore
Names & faces that you never knew
They fought for your freedom, too
Prisoners of War
No oath sworn, wore no uniform
Risked it all to keep you informed
Still speaking truth to power
Signal boost 'til the eleventh hour
Know what's in store
Still digging for the truth for
us in every investigation
Fling a light into the future
for the next generation
fighting World War IV
All along, they've been keeping score
Got dragged and ushered out the back door
and nobody knows where they are anymore
or what they're even chained-up for
Prisoners of War
Prisoners of a war never declared, it's frightening
held captive in a war some didn't even know they were fighting
No terms or conditions, just assume the position
taken for a ride called Extraordinary Rendition
Reverse Underground Railroad of unmarked vans & planes
all those whose disappearance remains unexplained
Just an Executive Decision, no supervision
one-way trip to the world's most populated prisons
In no position to criticize others as long we enforce
the very methods of all the places we say we deplore
Those who've been "rendered" to distant shores
shoved in unmarked vans & ushered out the back door
Who don't even know what they're chained up for
Their families no longer know where they are anymore
knowing the next disappearance could be yours
But no one one want to be next in line, of course
Insidious, how slowly tyranny can sneak up
When they come for you, who'll be left to speak up?
The target list of a shadow war
That the rest of us are supposed to ignore
Names & faces that you never knew
They fought for your freedom, too
Prisoners of War
No oath sworn, wore no uniform
Risked it all to keep you informed
Still speaking truth to power
Signal boost 'til the eleventh hour
Know what's in store
Still digging for the truth for
us in every investigation
Fling a light into the future
For the next generation
fighting World War IV
Not soldiers, but all the same they fought
Defending freedom at home as they do abroad
So that soldiers can come back home to find
The same country and liberties they left behind
Who'll you speak for?
It's easy to just duck and cover
When trouble comes barging thru
But if you don't speak up for others
who'll be left to speak up for you
when they kick down your door?
All along, they've been keeping score
Got dragged and ushered out the back door
and nobody knows where they are anymore
or what they're even chained-up for
Prisoners of War
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Chapter notes: If you don't speak up for others, who'll speak up for you?
Chapter end notes: -2003 – Sept 11, 2017
This one is dedicated to anyone who's ever been threatened, jailed, beaten, tortured or murdered in the name of truth and justice. You don't have to wear a uniform to fight for freedom.