| Bad Religion – The Biggest Killer in American History Lyrics | 22 years ago |
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The song makes an allusion to edward teller, a member of the Manhatten Project and one person who has been considered the father of the atomic bomb. Not only was he imparative to its creation but also one very adament on its use on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. He has been a great proponent for building ever bigger bombs since, especially during the nuclear escalations of the Cold War with Russia. He is a man of the school of thought that greater nuclear force means greater safety. This allusion is very apparent but I don't think that Greg is suggesting that Nuclear Bombs in large or those that were dropped on Japan are the biggest killer in american history, though they certainly killed more people in two moments than anything other single action man kind has taken. I think the lines: "we have got a problem it starts and ends right here, it can be defeated but you've gotta face your fear" are very literal in the sense that it is not some particular person or entitiy (i.e. stanglers, prowlers, bombers...commandos, etc..) but rather our own fears (individually and collectively) that are the biggest killer in American history. That we are not taught to face them, and so we submit to them creating a monster of our society. Edward Teller is a man that is driven by fear to create greater fear in the hope that we can suppress threat. |
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