I stole this from myself

The following is something I posted on my MySpace last night before I got this account. I personally saw it as a milestone in my blogging. I've felt that the rest I've posted I can't relate to 3 days after posting them because they were mostly about how apathetic I am after being faced with the truth of every girl I like not liking me and/or about how shitty...this horrible, horrible, horrible song on TV has interrupted my line of thought. I'm pretty sure it's Hinder, but I will ask no questions. It has just been varified to me that it IS Hinder. Godammit. Anyway, this blog touches on bands like Hinder.




In a world where language is dying. In a world where music only lives until it finds money. In a world where musical talent is defined by how accurately you can hit 5 buttons. In a world where not being yourself is the cool thing to do...

I need to find some peace.

In George Orwell's book, 1984, they had a slogan consisting of three theories, if you will, that seem to oddly make a lot of sense. Those three theories were:

WAR IS PEACE
IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH
FREEDOM IS SLAVERY

Allow me to explain to the best of my ability...

War is Peace is a theory that states that during war, the government of a country at war can do things that it, in normal conditions, wouldn't be able to get away with, such as "rooting out traitors." Therefore, they are more easily able to get rid of the troublemakers. An example of this is that during World War I, people opposing the war could be punished by law. Let me remind you that that is a direct act against the Bill of Rights.

Ignorance is Strength is the theory stating that if the people of a country or the people under any rule remain ignorant and ask no questions that the governing leaders have the power to justify whatever they want. An example is that if a Middle Eastern country attacks our country, we have the power to attack ANY Middle Eastern country, regardless of whether or not they had anything to do with the attack.

Freedom is Slavery is the theory stating that our freedoms and natural rights are to be seen as privileges and we are never going to be good enough to deserve those freedoms. I don't think I need an example for this one, it seems to be pretty self-explanatory.
These might not apply 100% of the time in our current time and you may not agree with any of them, but I definitely see some parallels and some logic behind it. I would like to add a couple more, if I may.

MEDIOCRITY IS TALENT
COMMUNICATION IS SUPPRESSION

Mediocrity is Talent is my theory that, as Against Me! said best first, "Mediocrity Gets You Pears." For instance, music. Music seems to live until it meets money. It would seem to me, for the most part, that the longer a band is on a major label, the less they sound like themselves and the more they sound like a radio-friendly ideal. It's not about what you make, it's about what you sell. Songs and bands are made in the same way that modern appliances are made: they are to last long enough for you to buy them and then want another one because the last one you bought no longer works. Can modern rock ever be known as classic rock or is it just a fad? Furthermore, certain genres of music are made for certain times in a person's life. Rock is for listening to in your car, country is for being with your girlfriend or for losing your girlfriend, reggae is for getting high, hip hop is for dancing dirty with your friends and sometimes for your car, and jazz is just a made-up concept. Acoustic guitars are furniture. Drum sets are movie set scenery. MySpace is for song plays. It's more impressive to watch you play "expert" level on games like Guitar Hero or Rock Band than to watch you actually play guitar or your band. Writing the same song over and over again is the best way to getting money. It's easier for listeners to catch on that way.

Communication is Suppression is my theory that the more we're able to always be "connected," the less connected we really are to the people around us. Cell phone texts come before talking to the person to which you are walking and talking. Talking online constitutes for your need social involvement. Our ways of communication also suppress our ability to write in our native language. The importance of grammar and spelling is quickly dissolving. Even in the book 1984, they talked about the destruction of English. There was a department in the government that eliminated more and more words in the English vocabulary every year. The new language they were creating was called "Newspeak," as opposed to traditional English, which was "Oldspeak." However, we don't need a department in the government to do that to our language. We're doing it ourselves. Adjectives take up too much time and text message characters to use.

However, I do sometimes believe that we're still somehow moving in the right direction overall. This country seems to be in a new progressive era. We recently passed a huge milestone in electing a black man as our president. That is more than significant no matter who you voted for or would have voted for. My faith in the country has been renewed, and I'm giving it a second chance. I believe that equal rights for gays will be the next to come. So maybe mainstream music is not my thing, but works for a lot of people...and maybe texting isn't for me but a lot of people find entertainment in it. But at least I can still find some peace in those who agree with me.

love,
Kyle