I woke up with this version of the song on my mind. Whether its today with the terrible recent events or if it’s just because it’s winter and I’m feeling a little blue, I cannot say for sure. Last night I spent a lot of time reading random feeds and posts on FaceBook and was kind of shocked by what I found. So much aggression… People abusing each other, righteously bullying, pontificating…
This medium has so much potential but its biggest flaw that I can see is the programming that brings ‘like-minded’ people together. If you post negative angry posts, the algorithms find and pass on to others of the same mindset. Negativity begets negativity and reinforces itself. It gives, I think, a false sense of perspective or point of view. The other extreme is the cutie, pretty/pretty vibe, posted merely to collect likes. Everyone wants to be liked. It’s not rocket science. I know an awful lot of people who have given up trying to ‘say’ anything for fear of retribution from one faction or another. So they put up harmless images to keep up a profile. Then there is the bandwagon brigade. Again it is understandable. Mob rule or the populist mentality speaks (literally) for themselves.
There were some wonderfully insightful posts and some very genuinely funny posts. I found these refreshing and enjoyable. There are some very clever minds at work out there.
I even stumbled across a few intelligent discussions where even though people didn’t necessarily agree, they listened without prejudice to counter-arguments and gave considered and respectful comments in return. These discussions were pretty rare and more is the pity. Some posts were very angry. Angry at everyone and literally saying “Everyone Fuck off, I hate all, you internet fuckheads”… someone having a very bad day I guess. I saw people apologising for previous posts and comments because they were drunk and had misunderstood the original content and just waded in.
The first rule on Facebook should be DON’T POST IF YOU ARE DRUNK… So much anger. So much bile. The disenchanted and dispossessed railing at a world that has turned its back to them. Very sad.
It worries me that we are losing the ability to listen to differing perspectives. That we are failing to articulate. All too often the I AM RIGHT, YOU ARE WRONG point of view would seem to be the whole of the law. Is this a bi-product of the ‘entitlement’ phenomenon? Did privilege assume, not earned?
There’s nothing I can do to change that. I realise this. For all, I know you are reading this and foaming at the mouth and preparing to vent or denounce me. But I don’t have any pics of cute pets to post… I am not a gorgeous figure of a man. And I guess that I am played out (for now) as far as any deeply serious discussion goes. All that I have left is my music.
I write music because it conveys more than mere words. You can aurally set the scene and manipulate emotional reactions far more easily. This song is my signature song. I guess because everyone can relate to the loss of a loved one. If you have lost someone, then this is for you. If you feel lost, this song is for you.
Listen.
Not just to the song. Listen to the people around you. Don’t just hear the words. Divine the meaning and the source of the words. Consider what is left unsaid. If we all do this, we may all learn something more than our own experience. Thank you for your time.
