Tuesday, July 15, 2008

"Politics R US"

I have been fascinated lately at how much politics influences our lives. It seems like no matter where it is or how it is run, if it has people, you can bet politics is there. I have spent much of my life heavily involved with politics from a government level. Now, all those years have basically sucked me dry of hope or meaning in any system with people. So, I try my best to be completely seperate and A-political as I can. The problem is that I am a passionate person. With my music, literature, movies, art, people, I care alot about these things and have strong emotions related to them. And as much as I wish it didn't, politics effects all these things in one way or another. So, I find myself saying "I don't care" one minute and the next, getting very passionate about something. I was talking to a friend recently about politics and I was telling him about certain issues that people get fired up about. Immigration or Same -sex marriages for instance. I tend to have a liberal point of view on both issues, yet I'm not an activist or protester by any stretch. That is until I talk to or hear someone who has the opposite point of view using racist jargon or absurd statements. An example would be when Jerry Fallwell called homosexuality an "abomination" or that 9/11/01 happened because of homosexuals and feminists. I've spoken with someone recently about immigration that liked to use racial slurs when referring to illegal immigrants. When I hear stuff like that, I have to admit, passion starts to build up and I become a little spurred on to "save the world from these ridiculous notions". Then I remember it's a fallen world and really there is nothing I could do to save it. In fact, I should be trying to save it from me and my depravity. I think it is good to take a stand on something and to have passion behind it. That makes it real. I just think we waste alot of time and energy trying to fix things that can't be fixed. Racism will always be there. Injustice will always be here. Corruption will always be here. It doesn't make it right, but it does allow us to be free in not worrying about if we are doing enough to make the world a better place. I don't know, I am a bit cynical when it comes to these things so if you disaggree, don't worry, I won't "cut your nuts off" as some in the political eye have so eloquently put. I really just wanted to point out how politics is tied with emotions and no matter how hard we try to seperate ourselves from the lies, the corruption, the issues that we know are only issues if the lobbyist says there so, at some point those feelings down inside are going to boil up and we may find ourselves speaking passionately about a political issue we have been trying to avoid. Of course, a really good way to try and avoid alot of issues is to remain ignorant about them. For example, with the war, I don't like it mainly because I don't like war. I know there are political agendas behind it with oil, which doesn't help it's cause for me any. But beyond that, I really don't know that much about it. The facts and what not. So, there really isn't much to say when you don't spend much time researching about something. Ignorance is bliss, baby!!! Anyway, just some more ramblings from a poor musician who doesn't know what to do with himself half the time. I guess if we really want to make a difference, we should be showing one another that we care about them, not the baggage that comes along with them. T.T.F.N.!!!