Category Archives: Our Society
Matters relating to society, community, religion, crime, media, poverty etc.
Living (and Loving) Life ’till the wheels fall off…
Previous visitors here will know, I often find a modicum of my life inspiration from music, amongst other things. You see to my mind, good music is (and should always be) about so much more than just computer generated head-banging mixes of trance inducing hypnotic repetition…
I’ve often thought, especially when observing the (younger) ardent followers of particular music genre; on many occasions, you are often replicas of the music you listen to. Think ‘angry’ punks, ‘chilled’ reggae lovers and the all loved-up hippies of the flower-power generation. With many of those musical drivers, there has also been a considerable amount of chemical influence involved over the years.
Looking at the prominent musical interests and fads of the youth of today; I’m concerned how so much of it seems to revolve around excessive repetitive noise, constant profanity, the promotion of criminal activity and inherent anger. Why so this aggressive behaviour? Simple escapism and an element of immaturity perhaps.
Today’s prominent youth music (often) does little more than promote the use and abuse of drugs and/or alcohol but even more worryingly; it also often contains suggestions that women are the playthings of men, there to be used and abused for personal gratification. If you add the almost total disrespect for any form of authority, a disregard for any human life (all be it virtual) mostly derived from a constant diet of computer generated reality, and you have a recipe for cooking up of even more social problems for the future.
Some may say they don’t actually listen to the lyrics of much of this so-called music however; whether they do or don’t, often that subliminal message is still all to prevalent.
All that said, it is also possible to be ‘high’ on ‘real’ life and to enjoy (or live) the music, without looking at it through a virtual screen and also, without the introduction of any chemical (or herbal) products to bolster the overall experience. A mellow mood doesn’t actually have to include a spliff, tablet or injection!
Much of the anger and materialistic aspirations of today’s youth have come about because; generations of the human race have lusted after riches, wealth and physical possessions. It’s what individuals in our society expect. When they don’t get what they want, they get angry. Our society has ’conditioned’ people to ‘expect’ all that they desire. But trust me, it’s not the possessions and wealth of life that make you truly happy.
I can’t lose what I never had, you can’t take what I ain’t got, when I’m happy, you won’t make me sad, depending on you all, well I’m not… Cause I started out with nothing and I’ve still got most of it left…(Seasick Steve)
During a BBC show the now well-known Seasick Steve, a veritable ’rags-to-riches’ America blues musician said; “Hobos are people who move around looking for work, tramps are people who move around but don’t look for work, and bums are people who don’t move and don’t work. I’ve been all three.” But life is about living it, and enjoying the experience, until the wheels fall off.
I might not have experienced some of those low points of life experienced by Seasick Steve, I might not have been on the bones of my arse so to speak, but I can actually appreciate the ethos he prescribes. I have witnessed a lot of the life issues he sings about. I have seen the desperation, pain and poverty that he puts into his music. As someone once said; “you can’t sing the blues unless you’ve experienced them.”
The wheels nearly fell off my life machine in 1987, I was involved in a road accident where I had a near-death experience and my best friend wasn’t as lucky as me. It was an experience that (thankfully), made me look at life with a whole new set of values. Ones that although the basics were already there, actually made me look at life from a whole different point of view. You see enjoyment of life is not about the material things, it’s about those aspects you can’t really place a monetary value upon.
Every now and then pieces of music, or the artists who perform them, come along to endorse the viewpoint that steve and I appear to share. The above clip of Aliki Chrysochou, performing in a recent round of Britain’s Got talent, is a fine example of what I’m talking about (see here).
The personal and emotional background to Aliki’s performance illustrates my point. It’s the type of music that is performed with feeling and/or some background experience of life’s realities. The kind of life events which can’t be truly and emotionally reiterated, without some personal experience of them. These are the types of life story (set to music) that our youth should be listening to, and trying to understand.
The triumphs over adversity, the broken hearts that mend, the joys to be found in life and the love to given and receive from others. Perhaps all this repetitive anger and/or despair in a great deal of our modern music is actually creating a subliminal state within the minds of our youth?
Unlike Seasick steve, I might not have started out with absolutely nothing but I can appreciate the fact I still have most of it left. And importantly as I get older, Steve’s song ‘Down on the farm’ (from the album Hubcap Music
Related articles
- Seasick Steve: I’ll keep playing till the wheels fall off (independent.co.uk)
- Album review: Seasick Steve, Hubcap Music (Fiction) (independent.co.uk)
Religion: The Rights and Wrongs?
Throughout history there has been any amount of hatred, war and bloodshed born out of religious belief. In a modern free thinking tolerant and diverse society, isn’t it time all this religious disagreement finally came to an end?
Much of that conflict, be it verbal or physical, results from misunderstanding of the beliefs held by others. Unfortunately in history, much of it has also been due to individuals, groups and nations trying to impose their particular ‘brand’ of belief on non believers.
Thankfully I’m not alone in this type of thinking. The Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason and Science (RDF) supports “scientific education, critical thinking and evidence-based understanding of the natural world in the quest to overcome religious fundamentalism, superstition, intolerance and suffering.”
Britain is a secular society, with secular, humane values. There is overwhelming support for these values, even among those who think of themselves as Christian. Just as importantly, there is also deep opposition to the state promoting religion in our society…(richarddawkinsfoundation.org)
In recent research (see here), the RDF suggest that even most Christians appear to be opposed to the mixing of religion and state policy. If that’s correct, surely it must be time for governments to stop peddling God?
But, by its very nature, discussion about the rights/wrongs of any form of religion or belief tends to be emotive. Even though the RDF research was only published recently (Feb 2012), there is already much vilification of Dr Richard Dawkins and his organisation.
Commenting in The Telegraph about a recent BBC Radio 4 Today show featuring the RDF research, Stephen Pollard wrote For once, Richard Dawkins is lost for words…
If you were trying to come up with a definition of misplaced intellectual arrogance, you could not do better than having the planet’s most famous atheist issuing diktats on who does and doesn’t count as a proper Christian..(telegraph.co.uk)
Pollard continued by suggesting ”militant secularists” have only one modus operandi which is attack. He went further by saying “respect for others’ views seems to be entirely missing from their moral calculus.”
During a recent visit to the Vatican, Baroness Warsi warned about the threat presented by “a rising tide of “militant secularisation” reminiscent of “totalitarian regimes”. In her speech (see here) she urged European countries to be “more confident” about the role which Christianity plays in society.
Yes, Christianity does play a role in society but, should it be any more than any other religion? And if so, surely not to the exclusion of the others. Previous visitors here will know my overall views on religion, I wrote another post on the very subject recently.
From my point of view, I believe we could have a society with far more religious tolerance if; those who believe in whatever they believe, stopped trying to elevate their belief onto a higher plane than the belief of others. Oh yes, and stop bloody pedaling it to others!
Related articles
- What is the proper place for religion in Britain’s public life? (guardian.co.uk)
- No secularism please, we’re British (independent.co.uk)
- What atheists can learn from religion (cnn.com)
- For once, Richard Dawkins is lost for words (oyiabrown.wordpress.com)
Dreams and Reality Don’t Mix – Or do they?
Ever had one of those moments? You know the one; no sooner have you slipped nicely into the warmth of a comfortable daydream then suddenly, you’re rudely awoken and brought crashing back into the hum-drum reality of day-to-day life. But does it honestly have to be that way?
In simple terms the answer to my original question should actually be a resounding no. That said, most of us naturally believe we are constrained by peer pressure, that and the family expectations and financial ties of life. It doesn’t matter if our thought process is logical or perceived, it’s a natural conclusion for many of us.
A wandering minstrel I—A thing of shreds and patches, Of ballads, songs and snatches, And dreamy lullaby! (The Mikado Act I, Part II by W. S. Gilbert)
Most of us arrive at the same answer because our reasoning is tainted. We have thought processes that have been developed from an accepted norm. Factors that have been beaten into us since childhood, physically or metaphorically speaking, actually dictate the way we think.
We’re all entitled to our dreams, often things do actually get better and sometimes the possessions we dream about owning, or the achievements we aspire to can also become reality. Without a dream or aspirational vision for our future, are we not just merly existing?
Take for example the now famous “I had a dream today” speech delivered by Martin Luther King. Society may not as yet have truly reached the levels that Mr King dreamt about but (arguably) we’re getting there but always remember…
The difficult we do immediately. The impossible takes a little longer!
