Social Suicide

When we voice our opinions or differ from the social norm we are osctracized for our uniqueness. Especially in the melting pot of American society. Take a page from true "freedom" and encourage a cultural mosaic, much like Canada has for years. Yes, it was not always that way, but growth and development is what we as a global community need (a.k.a exactly what this song tries to state).

this song is about how, by getting rid of the things you dislike that people do (creating a fresher atmosphere) you keep yourself away from a part of your social life (social suicide)

if you aren\'t a party person, and you dislike them, you get the hell out, and be less social, and give yourself a fresher atmosphere and do what pleases you.

imo

I think this has two meanings. The first one that I got was about conformity (which in a way is connected to the second). "Right now well it’s finally time to face my fears gonna get the hell out of here and create a fresher atmosphere but the consequence is clear " Sounds like facing the fears of being anti conformist, and getting out of the conformist mindset, and creating a different train of thought. "like you, perseverance is a useless tool, just a patron on a ship of fools, feigning interest in the cast and crew while you’ve broken every single rule" can be seen as both, because Bush doesn't care about us, however, in a conformity the leader(s) really don't care about the people who follow them around.

The other meaning I got, was what Dominick said...both seem to fit perfectly, any way bravo BR, bravo. BTW, the furnace line, sounds like it could be about how people who stand up against Bush are in Bill Maher's terms "wacked", and then the next day they are on TV saying, i never said that, blah blah blah. it could also be your peers burning you for going in Greg's words, "against the grain".

This is a huge anti conformity song. The album as a whole has this same theme running through it. They wanna live in society where no one really questions what they see in the media. They take everything that they report because they think its "truth". There has to be a place where everyone isnt trying to be like the kids in OC or Friends, thus a fresher atmosphere. The people that we idolize on TV are nothing more then shadows because they just look like real people, Shadows look and act like people do but they arent really people. The actors on TV pretend to be real people when they really arent. If we blindly follow what we see in the media then we will never find what "truth" is. "I don’t even know if I can never find truth but I’m sure it won’t come from following you"

That line pretty much sums up the song pretty well. He isnt even sure if truth can be truely found, but if it can we arent gonna find it by trying to be what we see on tv.

We cant conform to what the media says what we should be, when we dont do what they say we get expelled from society. Thus committing social suicide.

(all this stuff made sense in my head, but iam too lazy to clarify anything that needs clarifying lol.)

Atheist that I am, I find it ironic that I'm the only one to pick up on the seemingly biblical meaning of the furnace.

One of the most common stories bible-thumpers quote is three Jewish guys who were ordered to bow down to some idol or other by a Babylonian king. They refused, so he had a furnace turned up so high that the dudes who carried out his orders got burned to death in the process. The three guys still refused, so he tossed them in, and supposedly they were miraculously not burned.

Now despite the fact that I know Bad Religion don't follow Christian bullshit, I still think this is a nod toward that.

The song is talking about someone who wants to change things for the better, mobilize the people against Bush perhaps, which is what's meant by "create a fresher atmosphere". However, he knows that doing so will result in him being forcibly silenced (possibly killed) by the very government he opposes.

Correction: "There's a furnace set on high"

I think this song about the everyday struggles human beings tend to face to it comes to attaining some sense of truth or certainty in their lives. Now truth is a loaded word, so it could interpreted in numerous ways. There are many truths to be found, it just depends on the framework you're working in. What I think he's trying to say is even though you might be in the "right" framework you should rely on your own intelligence to make sense of your reality through your own experiences. Then again, I could be completely misinterpreting it. The lyrics are vague though, so one can interpret it in any one chooses to.

It's about Bush and the lies that his administration has put forth.

I agree with Dominick on some level, but i beleive that this song is about the society's need to know the truth, but instead what we hear are lies from the government, and when people try to put fourth truth, they are only hated by a society who doesnt understand... plus this is a great song off of Empire Strikes First... i like it...

Society is stagnating. It's a cycle of 'unwashed masses' being interpreted by scholars. There's a burner set to purify society, by weeding out anyone who thinks for themselves. Only way out is to turn the tide, which would kill the structure of society we have now. Hence, social suicide.

I agree with latchkey kid on this on this one it's not about Bush or the government.It's about us, the people.Our stagnant cesspool we call society.