In response to Senator McCarthy’s attacks on the Democrats and ACLU, broadcast journalist Edward R. Murrow delivered the following speech (which can be seen on YouTube [url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dMgoi9pBRwg]here[/url] at the 24 minute mark): “We must not confuse dissent with disloyalty. We must remember always that accusation is not proof and that conviction depends upon evidence and due process of law. We will not walk in fear of one of another. [b]We will not be driven by fear into an age of unreason[/b], if we dig deep in our history and our doctrine, and remember that we are not descended from fearful men – not from men who feared to write, to speak, to associate, and to defend causes that were, for the moment, unpopular.”

The song refers to two men. The first man “who risked his life / Who challenged all the lies offered as sacred truth” is likely Edward Murrow himself, who spoke out against McCarthyism. The second man “who received the seal” and “peddled blatant lies and brought back tyranny” is probably Donald Trump, who received the Presidential Seal and whose controversial presidency is the central theme of the album. Throughout the song, Greg affirms his belief in the innate intelligence of Americans and, more generally, humankind: “we can live as one in perfect harmony,” which “Requires a common sensibility / To teach an intellectual capacity that I believe / Is in the air.” However, many commit “the ultimate act of treason” by succumbing to fear and thus sacrificing their reason.

Thus, Greg brings Murrow’s urging that Americans not be driven by fear into an age of unreason into the 21st century.