First off, I want to state that I am both a political person and a musical person. My interest in music stretches back to age 5, and my interest in politics goes back to age 14. Musically, I started with piano, then moved onto writing songs, and finally singing - all within a span of about 3 years. Politically, I began as a socialist, both socially liberal and anti-capitalist, before taking up in interest in the art of business as well as discovering the evils of government and the failures of communism. Thus at age 17 I began to transition to libertarianism, and I have since inched closer and closer to what is called anarcho-capitalism. It is, I believe, the only fair and natural system, both liberal and logical - no corporations, no taxes, no privileges, and equal rights for all. Currently, however, I am a minarchist, as I think local governments can properly protect life, liberty, and property of citizens through public courts, defense, and security.
So, considering all of this, why have I only written one or two political songs? I have a lot of personal frustration with the government and related to politics, and my songs are almost always personal. One would think that I would write political songs often. And yet every time I sit down to write one, nothing comes out.
Throughout this semester, I've thought long and hard about this. I've noticed that I don't own too much political music; rather, I tend to listen to music that is either about love or is some sort of storytelling, perhaps fantastical or surreal. Finally, in realizing this, I've begun to understand why I don't write much protest music myself.
I consider myself a rationalist, hence my political beliefs, as I don't think socialism can be attained without a large authoritarian government. I don't think it complies with human nature. Music, on the other hand, has a history in the romantic. It's art. It has a life of its own. Why do you think box office revenues go up during recessions? People need an escape. I need an escape sometimes. I don't write music for social commentary. I write music because I get lost in it. Everything else fades away, and I don't have to consider the evils of the world for a little while. It's as if Hollywood has trained us to ignore the real world and live in fantasy. I realize now just how much a slave to the system I am.
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
The Power Struggle
Lately, I've been venting more and more about my frustration with the government, and with these frustrations I find myself becoming increasingly at odds with our fasco-socialist authority. I am becoming increasingly anti-government. It seems like everyday I find myself dumbfounded yet again by something coming out of our administration, whether it's the bail out of a big business, an unapproved war against Gadhafi in Libya, the federal shutdown of a medical marijuana plant in Montana (didn't Holder say he wasn't going to do that anymore), Hillary Clinton talking about how there's too much money in legalizing drugs (compared to leaving them illegal, with which factors of risk send prices through the roof, only increasing incentive for drug lords to sell them or acquire them in any (violent) way?), the president meeting with top CEOs of major corporations, the torture of Bradley Manning for spreading truth, or the renewal of the USA PATRIOT Act.
My point is, these are not the designated powers of the elected government. The government shouldn't be up on this throne; the government is supposed to be comprised of the people. And yet, we know very little compared to what they know, and they can do anything they want regardless of the law. If we protest it, there are two possible outcomes: nothingness, and imprisonment. We are hardly free. And the more power government creates for itself, the less free we are. The Constitution was written and the nation was founded on very basic classical liberal principles. That is, the protection of life, liberty, and property. These were fleshed out to prevent authoritarianism, and the Bill of Rights was written. And yet, even the original amendments are argued, such as gun rights, freedom of speech, religion, and association, rights to fair trial, rights against search and seizure, etc.
What makes me angrier than anything, however, is that Obama promised change. Were we naive? Was he just so damn likable? Did we expect more of him because he wasn't a fat, old, rich, white guy? Obama has continued Bush's policies of wiretapping, unapproved wars, torture, and bailing out big business. These are typical qualities of milito-fascism. Fascism, of course, is what resulted in corporate monopolies in the medical industry. Fascism and its regulations killed competition in ways that heightened the costs of drugs, insurance, and basic care. And it was this fascism, initiated by Nixon and Ford in the 70s, which allowed Obama to justify government meddling in the health care industry. To take care of rising prices, he said. This, though opposite of fascism on the spectrum, is socialism. The idea that if we all pay more taxes, we can all have health care. Well, the people who don't have it anyway. How about we get rid of the HMO Act of 1973, and repeal the ERISA law of 1974 that grants tax benefits to employers for providing insurance but not individuals? Why don't we open up interstate competition? Universal health care is a real nice idea, but government is not the answer. They are the reason health care is so expensive! I certainly don't trust the government to do a job people go to school for 15 years to do. Watch the health care industry turn into something like our public education system, where teachers go to college only to get paid very little and then get sacked, or where they are paid by experience regardless of quality. Who's going to want to be a doctor then? (NOTE: I realize fascism and socialism are extreme words, but I mean them not as slurs; I am abiding rather by their textbook definitions (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fascism and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Socialism).)
The worst part is, the two party system is uber-powerful thanks to lobbyists and corporate interests. The government has their hand around everyone's neck, trusting no one. Wasn't this a nation built on freedom and individuality? How can I protest if I don't believe in the possibility of results? Will it ever change?
Okay, whew. Rant is over.
My point is, these are not the designated powers of the elected government. The government shouldn't be up on this throne; the government is supposed to be comprised of the people. And yet, we know very little compared to what they know, and they can do anything they want regardless of the law. If we protest it, there are two possible outcomes: nothingness, and imprisonment. We are hardly free. And the more power government creates for itself, the less free we are. The Constitution was written and the nation was founded on very basic classical liberal principles. That is, the protection of life, liberty, and property. These were fleshed out to prevent authoritarianism, and the Bill of Rights was written. And yet, even the original amendments are argued, such as gun rights, freedom of speech, religion, and association, rights to fair trial, rights against search and seizure, etc.
What makes me angrier than anything, however, is that Obama promised change. Were we naive? Was he just so damn likable? Did we expect more of him because he wasn't a fat, old, rich, white guy? Obama has continued Bush's policies of wiretapping, unapproved wars, torture, and bailing out big business. These are typical qualities of milito-fascism. Fascism, of course, is what resulted in corporate monopolies in the medical industry. Fascism and its regulations killed competition in ways that heightened the costs of drugs, insurance, and basic care. And it was this fascism, initiated by Nixon and Ford in the 70s, which allowed Obama to justify government meddling in the health care industry. To take care of rising prices, he said. This, though opposite of fascism on the spectrum, is socialism. The idea that if we all pay more taxes, we can all have health care. Well, the people who don't have it anyway. How about we get rid of the HMO Act of 1973, and repeal the ERISA law of 1974 that grants tax benefits to employers for providing insurance but not individuals? Why don't we open up interstate competition? Universal health care is a real nice idea, but government is not the answer. They are the reason health care is so expensive! I certainly don't trust the government to do a job people go to school for 15 years to do. Watch the health care industry turn into something like our public education system, where teachers go to college only to get paid very little and then get sacked, or where they are paid by experience regardless of quality. Who's going to want to be a doctor then? (NOTE: I realize fascism and socialism are extreme words, but I mean them not as slurs; I am abiding rather by their textbook definitions (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fascism and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Socialism).)
The worst part is, the two party system is uber-powerful thanks to lobbyists and corporate interests. The government has their hand around everyone's neck, trusting no one. Wasn't this a nation built on freedom and individuality? How can I protest if I don't believe in the possibility of results? Will it ever change?
Okay, whew. Rant is over.
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