And...back to John Mayer. He has the most incredible bluesy voice I have ever heard, and I really am a fan, but once again, he seems to be one of those celebrities who just dips his toes in the political bathwaters. This is another protest on the Iraq war (seems to be the only issue he really takes a stand on), which is especially evident in the following lyrics:
Now if we had the power
To bring our neighbors home from war
They would have never missed a Christmas
No more ribbons on their door
And when you trust your television
What you get is what you got
Cause when they own the information, oh
They can bend it all they want
It is always so easy for the critics of the Iraq war to image that they would have had the superhuman wisdom and foresight to determine the absolute right choices if only they were in the position of the leaders of our country. I seriously doubt it. It seems as though, if these yuppies were in charge, they would have sat on their haunches in the name of peace until all Americans--not just the victims of September 11, 2001 and those who have died in the War on Terrorism--were murdered in the streets, or at least in danger of that fate. As a politically outspoken friend of mine quipped about this particular song and artist, "It's just so... pathetic. 'I am a whiny, pseudo-socially-conscious idiot, and the world just won't bend to my ignorant desires... I am so repressed.'" Now, I can't pretend to be that blunt, and I do believe John Mayer's heart is in the right place, but sometimes I get very tired of the apathy and prideful ignorance of those who claim that they would have absolutely done the "right" thing had they been given the chance.
Sources:
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1458921998#!/permalink.php?story_fbid=191010387616059&id=1458921998
http://www.sing365.com/music/lyric.nsf/Waiting-On-The-World-To-Change-lyrics-John-Mayer/B2BCC190B8AD3B21482571B2003E83BD
Showing posts with label Iraq. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Iraq. Show all posts
Friday, June 17, 2011
Friday, June 3, 2011
Post #1: "Belief" by John Mayer (2007)
If you listen intently to the lyrics, this is a war protest song. As a side note, it is most logically concluded that the song is a protest to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan during the Bush administration, not only because it was written and produced during that time period, but also because of the line, "What puts a hundred thousand children in the sand/Belief can." This is a direct allusion to the sands of the Middle East, where these two heavily protested wars were and still are being fought.
The more deeply embedded message, however, seems to be a general protest of the concept of war in general, stating that it is unfair and inhumane for human beings to die for other humans' belief "in how they think it ought to be." Woven between the lines of the lyrics, I see one of the messages to be that belief in something is is not worth having if it means that human lives must be sacrificed for that belief. Although I cannot pretend that war and death do not greatly disturb me, and I truly wish that there were an alternative to fighting, neither can I pretend that this song's message does not disturb me to some degree.
If humans did not believe in anything, if we allowed our fear of the unknown to control our innate desire to learn and explore new concepts and to choose certain ideals to hold and defend, what would separate us from mere animals? If you think about it, all major advances in the world past and present happened because someone believed in something--whether a new idea, or an old moral--and held to that belief even in the face of death or ostracism and ridicule.
Advances in healthcare happened because someone believed that there was an microscopic agent causing disease, and this agent could be fought against using physical measures; America was founded because people believed that human rights are God-given and not King-given; within America, those rights were eventually given to all people because someone believed that all humans, no matter their skin color or origin, are equal. Although belief will invariably ruffle feathers, and sometimes disturb the peace enough to cause death and destruction, I do not believe (no pun intended) that belief in itself is an evil thing because it has lead to more good than mere apathy would have ever created.
The more deeply embedded message, however, seems to be a general protest of the concept of war in general, stating that it is unfair and inhumane for human beings to die for other humans' belief "in how they think it ought to be." Woven between the lines of the lyrics, I see one of the messages to be that belief in something is is not worth having if it means that human lives must be sacrificed for that belief. Although I cannot pretend that war and death do not greatly disturb me, and I truly wish that there were an alternative to fighting, neither can I pretend that this song's message does not disturb me to some degree.
If humans did not believe in anything, if we allowed our fear of the unknown to control our innate desire to learn and explore new concepts and to choose certain ideals to hold and defend, what would separate us from mere animals? If you think about it, all major advances in the world past and present happened because someone believed in something--whether a new idea, or an old moral--and held to that belief even in the face of death or ostracism and ridicule.
Advances in healthcare happened because someone believed that there was an microscopic agent causing disease, and this agent could be fought against using physical measures; America was founded because people believed that human rights are God-given and not King-given; within America, those rights were eventually given to all people because someone believed that all humans, no matter their skin color or origin, are equal. Although belief will invariably ruffle feathers, and sometimes disturb the peace enough to cause death and destruction, I do not believe (no pun intended) that belief in itself is an evil thing because it has lead to more good than mere apathy would have ever created.
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