All a gun does is focus an explosion in one direction. You have a class of young strong men and women, and they want to give their lives to something. Advertising has these people chasing cars and clothes they don't need. Generations have been working in jobs they hate, just so they can buy what they don't really need. – Chuck Palahniuk
In a given day, we are exposed to THOUSANDS of advertising messages. I wake up beneath Nautica sheets and on top of a Temperpedic pad. I step into my Adidas shower shoes and trudge down the hall carrying my Dial: Soap for Men (as if these gender labels really are going to give me an indication of how clean I will be after using them). Also in my basket is a Gillette razor, because apparently natural hair on my face is a sign of laziness, which of course leads to self destructive behavior.
I pass four or five posters on the way to the shower, some of them telling me to join different clubs, others telling me to not consume alcohol. Some of them tell me how much trouble I can get in for consuming alcohol. This only makes me want to drink more, but the self righteous zealots that feel the desire to control aspects of MY life will never understand that.
I shampoo my hair because I have been taught that clean hair is attractive. I brush my teeth because I have been taught that halitosis drives away both sexes. I go run and lift at the gym not only to make my body stronger, but also because billboards tell me that’s how a man is supposed to look.
I do my homework because I have been taught that I want to get good grades. I want to get good grades because advertising also taught me that I want to graduate. I want to graduate because I should get a job. I should get a job because apparently I need money. I need money to go buy a house. I need a house to attract a wife and store shiny objects in. I need a wife to have a family. I need a family to…no. Stop.
I don’t need a family. I’m 19 and as confused as the rest of us when it comes to my future. I don’t need money that goes further than three meals a day and a roof over my head. I don’t need to graduate because others tell me to.
I don’t need a wife that wants me to buy her objects that apparently show my affection. I don’t need a wife that wants to perpetuate a lifestyle that has killed intellectualism. I don’t need a house so fancy that it makes up for how much I hate the eight hours of my day I spend working. I won’t waste away four fifths of my life to enjoy my useless possessions for one fifth of it. I won’t. I refuse.
This is your life, and it’s ending one minute at a time.
I will get my education because intellectualism is dying in America, and I am not going to let that continue. I will get my education because lately it hasn’t been “cool” to be smart. It’s not “cool” to be well read or to be intolerant of those who refuse to participate in self improvement. One of the most prominent figures in my life when it comes to advice is my father. His exact words were “Do what you love to do to the best of your ability. Get an education to expose yourself to a multitude of different aspects of life and fall back on what you have learned, should you ever fail.”
Semper fi. Always vigilant.
It is cool to be smart. It is cool to be able to discuss current events with your peers and voice your opinions. It is cool to step up to bat and try things that others won’t. It is cool to live your dreams. It is cool to be who YOU want to be.
Many of us are so busy following the messages that advertising has sent us that we are losing sight of the aspects of life that are truly enjoyable. Enjoyment doesn’t have to be in the form of some $4,500 television or expensive trip to Disney world. Enjoyment can be found in simplicity, and sometimes that is what produces some of your most treasured memories.
I traveled to Montreal multiple times with my band last summer. My favorite part of the entire road trip was just staring out the window as we drove through the high altitude regions, seeing mountains, grassy knolls, thick foliage, and a myriad of lakes. It is difficult to explain moments like these, but I think most will know what I’m talking about when you suddenly get that feeling that everything is all right.
A very simple memory. A memory that was void of the molestation we face by corporations on a daily basis. The cool water of the lake doesn’t care if you’re wearing your Billabong board shorts or whatever. Aesthetics will not judge you in any way, shape or form. They will not tell you what to do, nor will they lie to you.
One of the best elements of nature is that it will merely tell you if you are right or wrong. An icy lake means swimming is a poor decision to make. Wet wood means it will not burn well and produce too much smoke. On the other hand, advertising will tell us that you can never be wrong if you buy certain products. It overlooks the human factor of the equation, in which our personalities shape the discourse we have with others. Talking the talk and walking the walk are two entirely different sports, let alone ballparks.
It doesn’t have to be this way. We don’t have to put up with the garbage that is spewed into our minds several thousand times a day. Instead of following the pack that will make it through life in mediocrity (which is acceptable to some…but not me), we can push through a region that has only seen a few travelers make it through.
You can spend your days tiptoeing through life, always making sure you have solid ground to step on. You will survive if you do that, but in my eyes you will not live. After all, who is going to reach their goals first: the person who slowly inches forward in safety or the person that takes a leaping risk?
Shout me in the streets and parks
Scrape your voices on the stars
-The Lawrence Arms
Saturday, January 31, 2009
Thursday, January 29, 2009
An introduction
Why are we so destructive as human beings?
That's a difficult question. Is it the desensitization to violence? Is it the stunning lack of good parenting and positive environments in which to raise children? Is it just easier to pawn it all off as the Human Condition?
Certainly those are all negative things, but where did they spawn from? What is the plague that is causing all of these issues? Why can't we get to the root of these malices and eliminate them once and for all? Maybe the problem is us and our tendency to blame our problems on other circumstances.
I saw Chuck D from Public Enemy speak last night. He spoke of the devolution of hip hop music into childish gangsta rap, drug and gun culture, the current economic crisis, politics, and the lack of respect for intellectualism that people face today.
Witnessing his voice of compassion for this strife was pretty unbelievable. I grew up listening to Public Enemy, and Chuck D always had something to say that would make me instinctively respond with: "Wow...he's right" His statements are profound, blunt and straight to the point. There is no coddling within Chuck D's mind. He speaks to deliver the truth, no matter how harsh reality is.
The words he spoke inspired me. Here was a musician speaking to the world about how he saw things through his eyes. Certainly music has had an impact on his entire paradigm. Music has been so completely morphed by thousands of other paradigms that it is difficult for it to not have some effect on one's life, no matter how minor.
I had been toying with several ideas about this new blog, but only two of them really stood out for me. The first was music, an enormous part of my life. I knew that whatever I wrote had to have some sort of musical undertones in the message. The second idea was the fact that I constantly give advice to people. After roughly 6 years learning about the issues of others, you pick up on certain patterns (primarily environmental ones) that shape someone's worldview. Should I try an advice column perhaps...?
Seeing a musical artist discuss all matter of media in front of a live audience gave me an idea: why not combine the two? Music has millions of different themes that quite a few people live by. The same behaviors exhibited by humans are found mimicked by others in the form of lyrics.
The purpose of this blog will be to go in depth about human psychological and emotional problems. I will examine a myriad of sources for these issues and explain how quite a bit of media has been slowly infiltrating its corrupted information into your head. We will talk about the reason media exists. We will talk about the trials we all face as both children and adults. We will talk about ourselves and how our behavioral patterns are a result of how we have been influenced throughout our lives.
My goal is to make you aware of how much control you have over you life. There have been times in which I wish someone was around to discuss the issues that only a few dedicated people dared to tackle. Maybe after reading these essays, some of you won't feel so alone.
Why do we write? We write when we have something to say, and now I do.
"There is a war going on for you mind."
-Johnny 5
That's a difficult question. Is it the desensitization to violence? Is it the stunning lack of good parenting and positive environments in which to raise children? Is it just easier to pawn it all off as the Human Condition?
Certainly those are all negative things, but where did they spawn from? What is the plague that is causing all of these issues? Why can't we get to the root of these malices and eliminate them once and for all? Maybe the problem is us and our tendency to blame our problems on other circumstances.
I saw Chuck D from Public Enemy speak last night. He spoke of the devolution of hip hop music into childish gangsta rap, drug and gun culture, the current economic crisis, politics, and the lack of respect for intellectualism that people face today.
Witnessing his voice of compassion for this strife was pretty unbelievable. I grew up listening to Public Enemy, and Chuck D always had something to say that would make me instinctively respond with: "Wow...he's right" His statements are profound, blunt and straight to the point. There is no coddling within Chuck D's mind. He speaks to deliver the truth, no matter how harsh reality is.
The words he spoke inspired me. Here was a musician speaking to the world about how he saw things through his eyes. Certainly music has had an impact on his entire paradigm. Music has been so completely morphed by thousands of other paradigms that it is difficult for it to not have some effect on one's life, no matter how minor.
I had been toying with several ideas about this new blog, but only two of them really stood out for me. The first was music, an enormous part of my life. I knew that whatever I wrote had to have some sort of musical undertones in the message. The second idea was the fact that I constantly give advice to people. After roughly 6 years learning about the issues of others, you pick up on certain patterns (primarily environmental ones) that shape someone's worldview. Should I try an advice column perhaps...?
Seeing a musical artist discuss all matter of media in front of a live audience gave me an idea: why not combine the two? Music has millions of different themes that quite a few people live by. The same behaviors exhibited by humans are found mimicked by others in the form of lyrics.
The purpose of this blog will be to go in depth about human psychological and emotional problems. I will examine a myriad of sources for these issues and explain how quite a bit of media has been slowly infiltrating its corrupted information into your head. We will talk about the reason media exists. We will talk about the trials we all face as both children and adults. We will talk about ourselves and how our behavioral patterns are a result of how we have been influenced throughout our lives.
My goal is to make you aware of how much control you have over you life. There have been times in which I wish someone was around to discuss the issues that only a few dedicated people dared to tackle. Maybe after reading these essays, some of you won't feel so alone.
Why do we write? We write when we have something to say, and now I do.
"There is a war going on for you mind."
-Johnny 5
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