I strongly agree with the proposition that it is about the gulf war in 90/91. Several lines, especially in the second verse, speak for that. The 90/91 Gulf war started with Iraq invading Kuwait ("aggression rears its ugly head") and the US and 34 other nations responded ("retaliation brings further dread"). This is how it's always been (next two verses). And I guess we all believe that's an "outdated trend." Also the war was being fought in what is believed to be the cradle of humanity, and it could have easily escalated into something much bigger, bringing us onto the verge of another world war. And we all know, if we destroy this Earth, we don't have anywhere to go.

This song is about the gulf war in 91'. The line "and the fertile crescent is burning today" is about the oil fires, and "the cradle of humanity has led us all astray" is about how the birthplace of civilization (the middle east) is just keeping our minds off other problems that we've got.

Basically, this song is about how, from the very beginning, mankind has been misled to believing what those in power feel is correct. This is the reason for the thousands of different faiths. One person says one thing, another agrees, and something new has arisen that gets humanity as a whole no where. In my opinion, and those of some of my close friends, if humans could just accept responsibility for their own lives and not rely on some faith that tells them it happened because someone said it was supposed to happen, the fighting would stop and the world would be a much better place.

I think the rise of agriculture, first started in the fertile crescent, was the starting point of how we all live now. Marking the beginning of the end of hunting and gathering societies as well as the start of the mass over consumption of land, plants and animals for our own comfort. It describes the double edged sword of hypocrisy that we all have somehow come to have an intimate love hate relationship with.

It is my understanding that Greg Graffin wrote this song shortly after hearing about the United States declaration of war on Iraq.

The 'Fertile Crescent' is the name often used to describe the very arable land located between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers which account for the most populated areas of Iraq, such as Baghdad. It should also be noted that the very first civilization was settled at around 10,000 BC in current day Iraq but was then called Mesopotamia, and is often referred to as the 'cradle of civilization' or as Greg puts it, "the cradle of humanity".

In this song Greg explains his frustration with the war in Iraq. He believes that there are no reasons for war in the modern world and he keeps hoping the world will change. This is shown in the line "my optimism was running high, and a new world order was on my mind."

Wars in ancient Mesopotamia were fought in competition for unsettled land but since the world is entirely inhabited today, these wars are outdated. This is shown when he says "I don't believe in this outdated trend" and "We are all in this together don't you know, cause our species has nowhere else to go" I think he blames the war more so on Iraq than the United States which is shown in the line "the cradle of humanity has lead us all astray".

I think this song is telling us how the significant things such as a religion bloom, especially about the new religion, we all afraid if we defeated but how ever "cause we've got no where else to go."