Creed - One Lyrics Meaning

"One" also includes religious symbolism as do most of Creed's songs. Therefore, "One" is, in a sense, a Christian criticism of Affirmative Action. At the same time, it is a dismissal of theology-oriented arguments in favor of affirmative action.

Whether the subject of the line, "The payment silenced the masses, sanctified by oppression," is the payment or the masses that are now holy, the line's author suggests that a mistaken religious justification was used.

The chorus is an assumed perspective, perhaps capturing an attitude of a member of "the masses" as angry and eager for brotherhood to a fault, perhaps an individual who has lost a job opportunity in part due to reverse-racism. The phrase, "The only way is one" is used ironically, then, both to identify the powerful and correct goal of brotherhood, and at the same time the putatively tragic simplification used by the regulators authoring Affirmative Action legistlation and rules.

As a whole, this song tells a story that could easily serve as a sermon against Affirmative Action, cautioning against the dangers of minority empowerment through discrimination, should the people held back by reverse-discrimination turn, at worst, to religious or otherwise hate-oriented extremism: "Discrimination now on both sides, seeds of hate blossom further." The next lyric, "The world is headed for mutiny," suggests the interpretation that existing social and economic structures were put in grave danger as a result of this emerging set of hiring rules.

While a beautifully tragic song, the deepest and darker irony of the song may be the song author's anachronistic viewpoint. What may or may not have been meant as a personal story or a sermon from the early days of Affirmative Action, became, in its way, a beacon, for those opposed to racial considerations in hiring, especially certain nationally-influencial Christian sects. The difference between the problems of reverse discrimination and the reality of efforts at ending prejudicial hiring practices have become clearer in U.S. law since Affirmative Action Equal Opportunity rules came into effect in the 1960s. Nevertheless, the falsely presumed right to discriminate, especially in favor of more affluent, powerful, or "normal" individuals and groups, persists in the legal system, sadly fueled in some cases by relgious sects and politicians and judges who claim a deep Christian spirituality. ~Ben N