Food For Thought #3

Well, I can not seem to get around to posting as often as I would like to, which at the moment is mostly due to the fact that I am writing exams and, seeing as I did not do so earlier, am spending everyday studying so that I can at least manage to pass them and won't have to do retakes, because doing a retake would require me to actually continue studying for a module for which I don't have lectures anymore, which I am not really willing to do if at all avoidable, making studying between the various exams a necessity.

But then again, I usually manage to somehow pass exams with just the required amount of points, so I'm hoping to be fine.

Anyway, I was thinking of doing a new "Food For Thought" segment today, simply because I haven't done so in quite some time, and have had some positive responses to said segments, meaning that there seems to be some sort of interest present within my reading community in regard to my opinion on various topics.

So, have you ever thought about the concept of equality and tolerance and its actual meaning for the general public, but also for you as an individual?
I, as you will know by know, solemnly believe in these concepts, but I do also see how it can be a double-edged sword at times, seeing as some groups preach intolerance and inequality, but also have the constitutional right to freely express their opinions, meaning that although their beliefs are founded on intolerance, they apparently need to be tolerated.
Well, I don't really think so. I think that the freedom of an individual should be paramount, but only so far as no other people are being restricted thereby, meaning that everyone can express themselves freely, but can not do so in a way that tries to suppress any people, which I know to be contradictory to what I am doing right now, seeing as I want to restrict certain groups in what they do, but only because what they are doing is trying to restrict yet another group. Hence the double-edginess of aforementioned sword.

This certainly is a dilemma.
On the one hand, I would happily die to protect the intellectual freedom of the people and the freedom to express ones opinion without persecution, but on the other hand I would happily kill any right-wing nut job that protests against democracy, freedom and human dignity.
My personal way of reasoning in that case is that if someone does not want tolerance and equality to be values to uphold, than why the fuck should I uphold these values when dealing with such an individual? Why do I have to take the higher moral ground and say "Okay, I disagree with what you're trying to do and the acts of violence your actions are indirectly leading to, but seeing as I believe in and understand the concepts of tolerance and equality, I'm going to let you continue doing what you do"? That would of course be the wise thing to do, and in most cases that would be my reaction, but when it comes to racism I can not for the life of me control my urge to act just as intolerantly as they do and shoot those fucking assholes. I mean, seriously, we live in the globalized 21st century, all arguments you could possibly have to hate those different than you have been scientifically disproved by now!
And of course it happens that you get robbed in "your" country by a foreigner, yeah, it happens, but that has nothing to do with the fact that the guy is not originally from the same country as you are, it's either a result of poor circumstances or the robber was just a prick doing it for thrills. Either way, projecting your own shortcomings on an entire group of people and therefore hating them is just pathetic.
It's the same thing with homophobia - it has been proven that homophobes are actually just closet homosexuals! What you don't believe it and think I'm just saying that to sound "edgy"? Nope!

Anyway, I think what I'm getting it is that although being tolerant is mostly a two-way street, I don't think it has to be in all cases - such as xeno- and homophobia, meaning that I'll tolerate your beliefs as long as you tolerate those of others, that's as simple as it gets: You want to be tolerated, you have to start by tolerating others first, or as Nelson Mandela put it: "To be free is not to merely cast off one's own chains, but to live in a way to promotes and enhances the freedom of others" (I did not google the exact quote, but the message is the same)!

I furthermore have to say that the views expressed above are meant absolutely as they are stated, but should in no way endorse any violence towards any human being; you know that I'm a man of peace and mutual respect, and I do believe that a lot of the aforementioned individuals can be reached and "converted" if personal one-on-one talks were to take place. What I am stating above is merely that I believe that those who can not tolerate others for what they are should not expect to be tolerated themselves due to the nature of their ideology.

Finally, I think that everybody has a very different approach on these delicate matters, and a lot of people will label me a hypocrite after reading this entry, and I have to agree to some extent, but I also think that one can see why I choose to stray from my usual path of absolute tolerance in this instance.

And concluding this entry, here is some music to relax your mind:

Afroman - Because I got High
-> "I was gonna clean my room before I got high... I was gonna get up and find a broom, but then I got high... Now my room's still messed up, and I know why... Why men? Yeah, yeeeeaaah, because I got high, because I got high, because I got hiiigh...." 'nuff said :D

Sublime - Smoke Two Joints
-> many many people mistake this for a Bob Marley Song, but it was written two years after his death (may he rest in peace!) by The Toyes, and then re-recorded and made famous by Sublime... Enjoy!

Bob Marley - Buffalo Soldier
-> here is an actual Bob Marley song, somewhat fitting into the general topic of tolerance as well, and has a great chill feeling to it, making it an overall awesome song!

Black Sabbath - Sweet Leaf
-> this song had to appear on this blog at some point, and seeing as I am showcasing a lot of smoking songs today anyways, I thought that this would be as good a time as ever, so... enjoy!

Rhymin Simon feat. King Orgasmus One - Lasst Uns Chillen Schlampen (Part 2)
-> this is a great German song that  is really chill, and they mostly talk about sex and getting high which are not necessarily bad topics for a relaxing song ;)

Guns'n'Roses - Paradise City
-> Oh my god, I can not believe that I have not put this on here yet, the first time I smoked my favorite plant was to this song, it is just such a great piece of music, Axl Rose as vocalist and Slash on the guitar are just an unbeatable combo!

Mt Eden - Sierra Leone
-> Mt Eden is great at creating tunes that have the heaviest of bass while still remaining extremely calm and relaxing at the same time, which is an art in itself if you ask me, and this song is the epitome of said art...Enjoy! :)

This was it for today, I hope you guys (and gals of course) enjoyed reading this entry, and please feel free to use the comment section to voice your opinion on the post itself or the contents it concerned itself with! ;)

Peace!

2014, eh?

In a closed society where everybody's guilty, the only crime is getting caught. In a world of thieves, the only final sin is stupidity.                                                                                                                                                                              - Hunter S. Thompson

Well, in a month and a few days it will be nine years since the genius Hunter S. Thompson shot himself.

Most of you will, if at all, only have heard of him due to the movie "Fear And Loathing in Las Vegas", which is nothing to be ashamed of, but I personally was so fascinated by this character's depiction in said cinematic masterpiece that I had to start digging into his real-life counterpart, Hunter S. Thompson. And I was amazed by my findings to say the least. This guy was the living epitome of all I have ever wanted - a crazy, uncontrolled lifestyle only held together by an underlying genius expressed in his works that will remain for eternity.

And he left the way all the good ones leave us - Cobain-style if you will. But the thing that sets Thompson aside is that he did not finally work up the guts to end his life because he was wallowing in misery and depression like Kurt, but rather because he had serious health problems that would have impaired him in his abilities to function on his own, which is something he wanted to avoid. I believe he said that he always wanted to retain the ability to kill himself if he wanted to, but you'd have to google that if you want a reliable source confirming it.

Point being that he valued his free will more than anything, even more than life itself, ready to die when it was compromised.

And god damn it, this guy is fucking inspiring. He speaks the language of liberty, formulates the fabric of freedom and shows the significance of self-determination in a world dominated by pseudo-freedom and oppression, all while remaining genuinely entertaining and not getting all preachy on his audience.

I am seriously starting to think about writing something "real" in the future, maybe even pursue a career in writing of sorts, not that I have any aspiration of every making any money doing so, but I'd consider it a win if I could get my thoughts on real paper, as opposed to contributing to the deterioration of the English language and proper communication by blogging, as my favorite fictional author Hank Moody would say. But I am loosing my train of thought here and getting off-topic, if there ever was a topic to begin with.

Hm, seeing as I have already dipped into the whole freedom and self-determination thing once again, I might as well use that as a starting point, which also relates to the Hunter S. Thompson introduction, simply due to the fact that he had quite similar views as myself on these topics from what I have read. 
Beware that I am right now only really getting into the guy, I have just ordered the "Gonzo Papers" on Amazon and am currently waiting to discover more of his works, so I am by no means an expert in this field and all information here is subject to errors in research, ergo, if you want to find out more details about him, do some research yourself and don't rely on my ramblings here.
Hunter believed, as I do, that people looking to expand their consciousness using psychoactive substances should not criminalized by any governmental entity, but a controlled and regulated market should be made accessible to adults, because "[l]ook at Prohibition: all it did was make a lot of criminals rich. Should be legalized for a matter of sanity." (Thompson, 1997)

Of course, he is also a man that was referred to as a "walking chemical laboratory" so this statement may not seem surprising or convincing to some, but if you have ever read any of his more political works you would quickly come to the conclusion that this man was not a mere drug-addict that happened to have a way with words, no, this man was pure genius infused into a drug-crazed journalist that did not feel like writing journalistic texts the way everyone else did but rather founded a new style of journalistic writing.
And how could a person judge or even just talk about something without having experienced it? How can people that have merely read about possible specters of the effects that something may have on certain individuals decide that said thing should not be made available to the public by their governments, but rather by criminals? Yes I know, I am essentially just paraphrasing a Food For Thought from earlier, but this topic apparently needs to be revisited again and again in order to slowly make people understand that other people have the right to decide what they put in their bodies for themselves. It's not like they're doing anything else as I type. The people that have never touched drugs now would also not have touched them if they were legal and vice versa, meaning the legal status of a substance does not affect demand or supply, making prohibition a fallacious way of reasoning - forcing abstinence on people has never worked, does not work, and is not ever going to work. Period.

And the sooner the people in power realize this simple fact and allow us to free our minds the better - for the development of humanity away from oppression and chains to liberation and freedom - for psyche and body alike.

Hunter S. Thompson had realized this. And he was on the board of NORML in the earliest days of the movement, and dedicated many hours and pages to drugs, their use and legalization alike. He showed us that albeit taking many many drugs and not showing any limitations, he managed to be one of the greatest authors/journalists I have ever had the pleasure of reading and retained his independence even in death, which is actually quite beautiful if you ask me.

I see in the man an iconic figure, for his generation and many to come, including mine. We need people like H.S. Thompson to show us that the status quo is not the dull, never-ending, relentless pursuit of the bourgeois life, but rather an exciting, empowering and simply weird journey that will only end when the body can no longer support the mind and collapses in a final, norm-defying grin that echoes in history.

The very idea of going out like that gives me superhuman chills running up my spine like Olympic sprinters defying the concept of speed and instantly arriving at the finish line that is the release of various molecular substances in my brain, making the mere thought a sensational experience in itself. Don't get me wrong, I have never seriously contemplated suicide, but if I had the choice I would rather burn out than fade away, as aforementioned musical legend Kurt Cobain once rightly said.

Anyway, I think what I am getting at is that how you think and how you live or even act is not what you'll judged by in the long run - your words however, are. They will live on even after the last person to remember you being a complete asshole to those around you has died, they will carry on your legacy, and they will define your worth to future generations. If H.S. Thompson and K. Cobain had not written, in one case books and articles and in the other one lyrics, they would, if at all, only have been remembered for being drug-users that ended up killing themselves, yet another fantastic fairytale for the prohibitionists to exploit, but seeing as both of them did write, we can today remember them as the geniuses they were, a piece of their minds is and always will be within those that have been touched by their words, and that is true immortality.
These words will also have an effect on the future itself, seeing as words formulate ideas, ideas create thoughts, thoughts lead to actions, and actions ultimately bring change, maybe just for one person, maybe for all of mankind, but the effect is present, making above-mentioned immortality even more graspable due to the fact that one can change lives even in death.

So, if you "buy the ticket, take the ride" my readers, and live your life to its fullest extent, whether it is within societal norms or not, be yourself and indulge whenever possible, restraint is for the dead.

....and to conclude this entry, no more words are needed, just music:

Flux Pavilion feat. Major Lazer - Jah No Partial
-> two great artists came together and made a great song, 'nuff said!

Tupac feat. Jah Cure - All By Myself
-> I didn't know this song until I heard it in a Coffeeshop one day tbh, it is a great song with a great message that definitely needs to be here!

You think this will link to a song...
...NOPE! Just Chuck Testa :D I have to admit that it's pretty stupid, but rib-crushingly funny non the less, so if you don't know, now you know, biatch!

Survivor - Eye Of The Tiger
-> whether you first heard it in the Rocky Movies, referenced by some cartoon, or elsewhere - everybody has heard this song, and everybody enjoys it, I really wonder why I didn't put it here earlier (if I did please let me know, I don't cross-check these things)...

Dead Prez - Hip Hop
-> 'nuff said.

The Black Eyed Peas - Where Is The Love?
-> I know that this song is not necessarily what you'd expect from me, but it's a beautiful song from a time when music was about more than just partying and sounding 'cool', a time when music was used to show social inequalities, bring injustices to a large audience and stick it to the man...

...and in the spirit of sticking it to the the man , and of course in the spirit of Hunter S. Thompson, I wish all of my readers and everyone who wants to hear it a great year 2014 and lots of personal fulfillment!

Peace!

P.S.: I might update more regularly from now on, and then again I might not, we'll see :D

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!