For Lack Of A Better War

(For Arlo)
The protests are over, the marches are no more
We are mostly happy with the way things are
No one is rallying in front of city hall
If anybody needs us, we’ll be at the mall.

They can say that we don’t care
    that we’re not even trying
But we’ve never known a war
    and our friends aren’t all dying.
They can call us all posers
    they can call us all fakes
But we’ve seen the past on TV
    and learned from their mistakes

They can build better bombs, and better artillery
We only like to kill people we can’t see.
Until they lead us off again and we’ll have to fight some more
I’m thankful for the lack of a better war.

They can say that we don’t care
    that we’re not even trying
But we’ve never known a war
    and our friends aren’t all dying.
They can call us all posers
    they can call us all fakes
But we’ve seen the past on TV
    and learned from their mistakes

We put our trust in our leaders
    though we know that they’re lying
We’ve never known a war
    and our friends aren’t all dying.
The reforms and changes
    may finally come along,
Maybe someone listened
    when you sang your songs.

We’re still homeless, but now we’re building
We’re still infected, but now we’re visiting
We’re still illiterate, but now we’re teaching
We’re still afraid, but now we’re reaching

They can call us all posers, they can call us all fakes
But we’ve seen it all on TV and learned from their mistakes.