Wake Up

    It is July 27th. A thunderstorm looming in the distance, I sit in the heat of a North Carolina afternoon. The wind blows strongly. Smoking cigarettes on a darkly stained deck, I start thinking about my hero's that have passed on, and their vision of the future. Of not only our country but the world as a whole. I let the idea simmer as I take a long drag. I contemplate the hero's of mine that are still alive. As most, they started with pure intentions, but through time, and compromise they have turned into the very thing that they were fighting in the first place. Coming from a young man in American society this thought could be taken as rather critical, or even pretentious. However it is the honest and uninhibited truth of what this society does to it's rebels and freaks, to those intelligent enough to realize what integrity really is.
    In the same light I visit my influences that have expired. Searching for reasons why it had to be this way. The musicians and artists, most of whom drank, and injected themselves to death, had decayed from prolonged exposure to a greedy and relentless machine some call "The Music Industry." In America, exploitation of those that are talented and unique is the name of the game. A country where any person, place, or thing can become a commodity so long as you put it on television.
    As I reflect on my favorite writers, activists, and philosophers, I noticed that many of these people were either assassinated, or had killed themselves as a result of having no faith left in humanity. That's another thought provoking aspect of America. If there is the slightest notion of a large scale alteration to our society, the "threat" is always discredited, demonized, or blatantly eliminated. I could endlessly list those who were assassinated for their beliefs in a more peaceful and beautiful world.
    I could also name many people who are condemned because of there intelligence. Lets face it, we're living in a society that worships celebrities, money, and decadence. At the center of the distraction that is American pop culture, is media. Everything, from television to the internet, your nightly news show, your morning paper, and even the advertising on your favorite social network. All of these are viewed as tools to perpetuate and manipulate the consumer culture that America has become. In the eyes of most Americans anyone that criticizes, questions, or searches for the meaning of this phenomena is either, uneducated, mentally ill, or our new favorite, a terrorist.
   It is most unfortunate that many people have the ability to change these things,but most people are consumed by the new American ideal. Those who believe they are apart of the new counter-culture (hipsters) are under the impression that the end of the world as we know it is at hand. As if some mystical force is going to come and solve all our problems for us. Almost as if they're waiting for some kind of savior to fix the mess that they so ignorantly believe they are not apart of. Many claim that they want to change so many things, but when they have an opportunity to carry out the things they've conversed about, they refuse to take action. It is my belief that many young people are terrified by the very idea of defying authority and acting out in civil disobedience. We have been conditioned to fear authority figures. The police only protect and serve those whose authority supersedes their own. They are nothing more than a violent street gang that does the dirty work for elected officials and prominent members of society. If Americans analyzed The Civil Rights Movement, Kent State, and the DNC of 1968, they would quickly draw the same conclusion. Nothing has changed, nothing will change, unless we as a generation, a movement, and a family take the necessary steps to make our world a better place.
  

                                         Wake Up