Songfacts®:

• The title of this song is a play on the United State's terrorist warning system: "Alert Status Red/But the sun comes up instead" refers to the way life goes on even though the US government is constantly warning everyone of "Imminent Threats."
• The video for this song was shot at Centennial High School in Coquitlam, British Columbia, Canada. It was released on June 1st, 2004, but removed the same day because it contains footage from the Columbine Massacre. It was later re-added, with these comments by Matthew Good:
  
  "We are members of a violent society. We sell the world the majority of its weaponry; we are the foremost purveyors of nuclear weapons, chemical and biological weapons, and military hardware. And yet we love nothing more than to point the finger at others and claim that they are the cause of the world's love affair with violence. The truth of the matter is that we tend to hide from the fact that we are just as violent, that we are just as capable, that we do not dwell on some higher moral ground from which to cast blame and point fingers. Incidents such as what occurred at Columbine high school demonstrate this, as does the wanton aggression of world superpowers that claim to be acting in self-defense when the truth of the matter is that they're merely reaping the whirlwind of their own abusive conduct. Our responsibility is to wake up and realize these truths." >>

  Suggestion credit:
  Jeffrey - Victoria, Canada, for above 2