Post #7: "Waiting on the World to Change" by John Mayer (2006)

     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

Post #3: "21 Guns" by Green Day (2009)

     Something that really surprised me about this song, "21 Guns," was the comments posted below the Youtube video.  The first time I listened to "21 Guns," it was kind of obvious that this was a politically charged war-protest song.  However, the majority of commenters genuinely thought that it was simply a song about a couple breaking up and making up—just a pop song about relationships.  Although I can see that element in the video because of the young couple portrayed, I think that this song is something much deeper, and even deeper than a simple protest to war.

     I think that imagery in the video plays a big part in the full message of the song; the girl has a fragile beauty about her even though she dresses in a tough-looking leather jacket and has her dark hair pulled back.  I think that the most moving scene is when the bullets come piercing through the walls of their apartment while she shrieks and covers her ears.  At the same time this is happening, the lyrics sing:

One, 21 guns
Lay down your arms, give up the fight
One, 21 guns
Throw up your arms into the sky, you and I

     There are multiple layers to this song: 1) It could be taken as advice to couples about knowing when it’s just not working anymore and when to let the relationship go; 2) It could be a typical war-protest song advising the leaders of our country to be cautious when entering war, and not to start battles over trivial matters; however, I don’t believe that this is your typical protest song at its deepest level; I think it is about an internal battle more than anything.

     In other words, it may actually be a song speaking to veterans.  Its message may be a song of encouragement, a song to let them know that it’s ok to admit fear, it’s alright to be scared, and it’s normal to be scarred (not a misspelling, I mean to have internal scars).  I think the scene with the young girl serves to represent the shattering of a person’s innocence that battle and the horrors of war invariably bring, and that the entire song is a message to American veterans simply saying, “We know that this is what you’ve been through, and it’s time to take down your armor, time to let go of the tough-guy attitude, time to allow yourself to mourn for everything you’ve lost and grieve every scar (whether physical or emotional) that you’ve gained.”  

Sources:http://www.elyrics.net/read/g/green-day-lyrics/21-guns-lyrics.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r00ikilDxW4

More thoughts on "Belief"...

     War is a negative thing; any truly compassionate human being will not accept war in and of itself as a good thing.  Thus, especially in recent times, wars have sparked protests and protest songs born of individuals who believed there was an alternative to war.  John Mayer's "Belief" reminds me in a way of John Lennon's "Imagine," the lyrics to which I will post below:

Imagine there's no Heaven
It's easy if you try
No hell below us
Above us only sky
Imagine all the people
Living for today

Imagine there's no countries
It isn't hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion too
Imagine all the people
Living life in peace

You may say that I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will be as one

Imagine no possessions
I wonder if you can
No need for greed or hunger
A brotherhood of man
Imagine all the people
Sharing all the world

You may say that I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will live as one

     Although the two songwriters have an extremely similar message, they present them in different tones and styles.  In "Imagine," an ethereal portrait of an alternative world is presented within the lyrics, while "Belief" harshly points to belief in something (whether a religion, moral code, cultural superiority, etc.) as the root cause of conflict and war. 

     From the first time I heard "Imagine," something bothered me about it, something I couldn't quite put my finger on.  Superficially, the message within the song is one of peace among all people--in itself, a good thing.  However, if one looks deeper into the lyrics, this peace comes at the cost of religious freedom, personal property, and statehood.  When one peels away the layers of mysticism and sanguinity, the stark planks of pure socialism are revealed.  As even the World Socialist Movement itself declares,
"Imagine is a humanistic song par excellence, denying humans the place they often accord themselves in the spiritual universe, and instead relegating them to their material and exquisitely beautiful home of Earth. This Lennon does to urge his fellow men and women to unite in creating a world fit to live upon, one without countries, war, religion, or private property. Sharing this world together as a true 'brotherhood of man,' some in the World Socialist Movement have wondered if he wrote this song after reading a copy of the Socialist Standard, which is not impossible considering his extensive reading of radical journals following the demise of the Beatles, although it is not known if he actually read the Standard, a journal that has also been advocating a nationless, classless, moneyless society of common ownership since 1904."

     In the same way, John Mayer's song "Belief" also denys humans the right to individualiity and investigation, asking that, for the goal of peace, we refuse our innate desire to form a personal worldview and instead must accept perfect, absolute, indisputible equality in all things.  What is it that separartes humans from other creatures?  Probably a multitude of different elements, but in this list, must not creativity and individuality be included?

     In closing, I would like to say that I do not personally advocate conflict and war.  I also believe that a peaceful world would be the best, but my conscience does not allow me to sacrifice liberty and independence for the sake of a utopia; there simply must be another way to achieve peace without stripping away each human being to a naked and empty shell of humanity.

Sources:
http://www.worldsocialism.org/articles/imagine_by_john_lennon.php
http://www.metrolyrics.com/imagine-lyrics-john-lennon.html

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.