Food For Thought #2

Firstly, seeing as I have not received any feedback whatsoever, I'll just leave the SoundCloud Widget on here for now, simply because it does not seem to be disturbing anyone and I personally like having some minor form of promotion for my music on here as well.

Secondly, it's the end of the month, so this is the last post for November, meaning that I had to make it a "Food For Thought", seeing as you should always finish a month being a little wiser than when it started in my humble opinion, and this is the perfect way to do so.

So, thirdly, have you ever thought about the role the government should play and the duties it should perform compared to the role it actually plays and the actions it actually takes. I believe that there is a huge discrepancy between them, and believe it to be a bad one. "Democracy" means that the people should be governed by the people, that we, as the people, should be protected by the government and its organs, and that it should serve us. Do we see anything like that?
Well, to some extent, yes. We are all eligible to vote, we have the right of human dignity, supposedly complete freedom of speech, and the authorities can not arbitrarily make decisions. At least on paper we have all of these rights and freedoms. But if we truly do, why is it that people that do not pose a threat to society, that have at best committed victim-less crimes, are put together in a confined space with murderers, rapists, and other violent, bad human beings? Why is it that as soon as something is declared a "matter of national security" basic human rights are being overthrown, people just disappear, and privacy is suddenly of no concern? How is it that a state within the state in form of secret services is being allowed without anyone seeming to mind? What is the exact amount of innocents that have been kept in Guantanamo Bay for decades, tortured and degraded?
These atrocities are not something that happens far away, somewhere in the Middle East. These atrocities are not the drug-induced fantasy of some cooked up conspiracy theorists. These atrocities have often been confirmed, and we were told that "no one knew" or that it would be "dealt with" and promised that these atrocities would be stopped forever. But, what surprise, a few months later we have the next big scandalous discovery, and the same thing repeats itself.
And, the ironic, and sad, thing about it is that a lot of the criminal, a lot of mafia, even a lot of terrorist markets and funds are essentially being protected by the government. How you ask? Quite simply by the prohibition of mind-altering substances. Remember when alcohol was forbidden in the early 30's? The reason it was re-legalized rather quickly was that the ban resulted in a violent, mafia-controlled black market that quickly spiraled out of the governments control.
Now imagine letting such a market grow over decades, giving it the right nutrients in form of trying to force abstinence on citizens and suppress their free choices; imagine this market to be the exclusive source for substances that lots of people enjoy, or in some cases even need medicinally, and further imagine this market to be protected by laws that forbid the customers to purchase their goods elsewhere whilst not regulating the existing vendors, thereby preventing the possibility of education, safety, quality and protecting minors, essentially allowing easy access to possibly laced, and therefore deadly substances to everybody.
A dystopian fantasy you may think, but, alas, unfortunate reality it is. Above-mentioned problems are all effects of the international regulations for narcotics, and could be solved or at least lessened by regulating the existing market and thereby pulling out the rug from under the mafia and other criminals, essentially stealing their customers. And the funds that are nowadays being wasted on ineffective police work could be spent on prevention, education and rehabilitation.
Of course I am not saying that by doing so all the crime and violence in the world would stop, people will always find some stupid-ass reason to bash each other's heads in, but it would definitely be a first step towards a more peaceful planet. I mean, who does the government even think they are, telling people what they can and can not put into their bodies? Our 'protectors'? Then why am I allowed to poison myself with ethanol and nicotine whilst eating rat poison? All perfectly legal. It just does not make sense. At all.
Furthermore, I believe that by just saying "no, that's bad, you are not allowed to do that", mind-altering substances become even more attractive, especially to teenagers, because the things that are forbidden and taboo are always the most fun during puberty, we've all been there and know this to be true, so why give them the incentive and ban those substances even for adults?
I do not believe that to have any logical basis. I know that the actual decision of making alcohol and cigarettes legal whilst prohibiting everything else was made arbitrarily with close to no scientific evidence to support these decisions.
And, again, the government is supposed to protect and serve the people, and it is pretty much doing the exact opposite by allowing an existing market to be controlled by thugs and gangs.

So this was today's "Food For Thought", a tad more controversial than the first one in my opinion, but an important topic nevertheless, so tell me what you have to say to that? Do you feel like I feel? Do you see what I see? Can you no longer sit by as your government strips away more and more freedom? Do you feel like the world, and humanity, is heading down a dark path?
Or do you think differently? Do you think I am misinterpreting or misjudging? Do you have a different proposal altogether of how to address above-mentioned issues?
Please feel free to use the comment section to share your thoughts :)

This essentially concludes today's "Food For Thought", following are the usual YouTube links to, as usually, good music:

Juventa feat. Erica Curran - Move Into The Light (Koven Remix)
-> not the best song of the genre, definitely one of the weaker ones compared to those in my other posts, but still a good song, and it somehow conveys this struggle for freedom to me in a way I can't quite put my finger on, so it has to be here, and it's far from terrible, still very worth listening to!

Sido feat. Genetikk & Marsimoto - Maskerade
-> very new German rap by the artist that actually introduced me to the entire genre, it was because of his music that I even started getting into the whole Hip Hop thing, so he is a big idol for me, I'm a huge fan, and this is a song from his newest Album called "30-11-80", and had to be put here because it is fucking awesome.

Dub FX - Fly With Me
-> Dub FX is fucking amazing, making all of his songs with nothing but the sounds he can make with his mouth (and a pedal to record and loop everything obviously); his music is deep, relaxing and quite psychedelic, with somewhat of an "out-of-this-world feeling", really, really great artist!!

Alt-J - Fitzpleasure
-> I actually discovered this song through a T-Mobile commercial a few months ago, and it's just such a trippy song that I had to include it, especially in this post. I have no idea what genre this is, I have no clue what the bands other songs are like, I just know that I like this song, so I'm sharing it with all of you.

Green Day - Holiday
-> well, besides from representing freedom and rebellion, this song has been with me during the best times of my life, and I have always loved it, so, no matter how popular it is by now, no matter how "sell-out" and "mainstream" Green Day may be to some, I love this fucking song!!

Bob Marley - Redemption Song
-> Bob had to be in this blog at some point, and where better to put him than below a post concerning itself with freedom, which is a big factor in Marley's songs and life, and this particular song definitely fits perfectly. One Love!!

Lowkey - Obama Nation
-> talking about freedom, equality and the role of the government, America is of course always the best negative example to give for these three topics, and Lowkey here expresses everything that is wrong with that country of extremes founded by a genocide better than I possibly could, so just listen to the song!! Oh and of course huge props to lowkey for speaking up, and for being a pretty great rapper!!

Well, the "Food For Thought" turned out to be rather depressing once again, but, well, that is the input I get from the world, and, contrary to what math teachers will have you believe, a double negative does not make a positive if you catch my drift. Anyway, I hope that some of you can relate to the topic, that it was an enjoyable reading experience for all of you, and, of course, that you liked today's selection of songs!

Peace!

Food for thought

Well, firstly, I want to say that I luckily managed to get some sleep the other night after all, I passed out in front of my TV around 5:30 and slept until 11 AM, which is quite nice, and my sleep pattern returned to normal yesterday, so whatever the reason was for my sleep deprivation, it seems to have passed.

So, secondly, I have some food for thought for you guys. Have you ever wondered about the very idea of social interactions? I mean, why is it that us humans feel the need to adapt certain norms and conform to a certain way of living when coexisting in settlements? Why is it that even in western society, the individual crumbles under the creeping influence of the masses, and end ups conforming to societies demands?

Personally, I think that we are just insecure in our foundation. I believe that most people have some form of underlying inferiority complex that makes them strive to achieve a kind of social recognition, makes them pursue a life of conformity in order to be accepted into whatever community it is they find themselves in, be it at work, at home, or as a player in the societal game, which in itself is defined by conforming to what happens around you, e.g.: small talk with new acquaintances; dressing "appropriately" for certain events; following rules that undermine ones ability to think freely; not stepping out of line; keeping ones mouth shut; and so on...

But do we really need these norms, these mental regulations that we put upon ourselves just to fit in and not ruffle any feathers? Has mankind really stooped to a point where every individual is just pandering a boring, lifeless version of themselves to the mind-numbed masses? Or am I just misjudging this behavior? Is humanity maybe really just moving towards a unanimous gigantic glob of similar minded people and opinions, and I am the outcast that just perceives this as a threatening sign of worldwide conformity? I obviously can not with certainty know the answer to this, but I will work on the assumption that I am not misinterpreting what I am seeing, which does not mean that I reject the entire concept of society and social interactions, just that I am worried about the extent to which people are willing to compromise their individuality in order to conform to societal norms nowadays.

This adaption of routine. This eternal infernal loop of repetition. This conformity. It's slowly crushing against my skull like waves on a riff, and my individual personality is slowly crumbling like stone that has been washed away by centuries of relentless waves moving back and forth, and back and forth, and back and forth... Isn't it sad? I mean, take a look back, not even that long ago, let's say five to ten years; what do you see? Do you remember that item of clothing or that sticker or that haircut that you did not want to get rid of? Well now you did, didn't you? And that's not even the worst part, people changing is natural, but the problem is that these things have not been replaced by equally personal or even controversial items, but rather by suits, ties and briefcases that make you look like one of the millions of ant-like creatures slowly dragging their cloned, all equally gray and dull bodies out of the gates of hell that are subway stations and ultimately reaching the rotting dark chambers that we call 'offices' in order to repeat the same relentless routine for eight to twelve hours each and every day, only to then drag themselves back to their homes, conforming, working, fitting in, functioning, and dying internally until they're nothing but an empty hollow husk of the individuals they once used to be.

Hopefully this has somewhat stimulated your mind, and gave you some things to think about or perhaps some things to rethink... Let me know!

So, this was tonight's 'food for thought', which is something I will be doing from time to time, and is, as you just read, essentially me giving my opinion on some topic that comes to mind (suggestions are always welcome!), and thereby hopefully animating you guys to think a little for yourselves!
Tonight turned out pretty sinister to be honest, I was thinking of choosing something easily digestible or even happy as a topic for the first 'food for thought', but I somehow got dragged into the whole topic of society and conformity, and that always ends up in dark sentences when I write about it.
I hope you enjoyed it nevertheless, and if you have anything to say, compliment or criticize about what I wrote here, feel free to use the comment section to do so, and I'll be sure to answer it.

So, this concludes this blog entry. But, seeing as this is "music and personal wisdom", here are some more links to some more great music:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DaRG0ukxYqQ
Method Man and Busta Rhymes - What's Happenin' - classic; two amazing artists; nuff said.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bED316K3CtU
B-Real, Coolio, Method Man, LL Cool J and Busta Rhymes - Hit'Em High - I'm feeling classic songs tonight, and this is another gem in that category! nuff said.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QmiG-gfuqQc
Redman, Method Man and Ready Roc - Blow Treez - "This should be played at high volume, preferably in a residential neighborhood" :D Great song, great Bob Marley sample, great artists, and its about weed, what more could one ask for?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n8iKWB9bRn4
Cypress Hill, Method Man and Redman - Cisco Kid - I'm really in Meth&Red mode tonight, another amazing song, taken from one of the greatest stoner movies of all times, "How High", so... nuff said?!

And, finally : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m6iKbgwKHtM&list=PLFC3AC823A80FC8D9
Which is not music per se, but the "Meth&Red Show", which is really hilarious, too bad FOX had to be dicks, hindering meth and red in their creative process and ultimately leading to the shows cancellation, but the episodes that do exist are rib-crushingly funny. And if you have never seen it, you're in for a treat; and if you have, meh, maybe it's time to watch it once again? ;)

Alright, that's it for tonight, I'm going to get nice and 'relaxed', watch some cartoons and go to bed :P

Peace!