Anti-Establishment Mondaze
This week’s song is by Damien Marley and Nas from their 2010 album “Distant Relatives”. This album is awesome, because it has two greats, from two different genres coming together. It combines reggae and hip-hop and addresses a number of issues, and it does what both genres were meant to do, poetically address contemporary human issues.
“Patience” is sort of a polemic against progress for the sake of progress. Or more appropriately a criticism of the current state of human progress. As humans we’ve progressed exponentially fast ever since the 19th century, when it comes to technology and science, but at what cost? We’ve become so reliant on technology, we’ve lost our self sufficiency as humans. As we devote more of our focus towards the physical world, we leave behind the metaphysical world and neglect our souls, or the essence of our being. Now I don’t ascribe to any organized religion, and I like science just as much as the next guy, so when I say “soul”, I don’t mean that in a religious sense, I mean it more just as who we are as unique individuals. We’ve become reliant on technology, and we’re losing the ability to be well-rounded, intelligent humans, and were losing our connection with other humans.
Being a humanities major I can’t help but agree with this notion. We’ve sort of lost our way as humanity in so many ways, and we’ve definitely lost our patience. You can see it in our education. We’re educated so we can get a job and fit into a capitalistic system as a mindless drone. The first question any adult asks you after they ask your major, is “so what are you going to do with that degree?” It’s never, “Oh that’s awesome, why did you pick that? What interests you about it?” No, its always how are you going to make money.
Nobody is educated to enrich themselves as a person, to make them a more complete, well-rounded individual. The vast majority of people aren’t taught how to think, they’re taught what to think, how to think within structures and parameters, not to truly be intellectuals, who ponder existence, life in general, and learn to be open-minded, and to think critically. And who can blame us, when anybody who does is basically chastised, and unable to make a living. We need to sell our soul’s freedom in order to survive in society. Were in need of a 21st century renaissance, where we as humans get back to pursuing an education and knowledge to enrich ourselves as an individual, not to fit into a specialized and limited career where we become a mindless drone in the system, a cog in the machine, where all we’re interested in is money.
I could go into more detail, but this is a music blog, not my soap box, so I’ll wrap it up. We must question progress as humans, not accept it complacently. Science, technology and understanding the world is great and necessary, but there’s so much we don’t know about ourselves, and in our effort to understand the world, we shouldn’t neglect the understanding of ourselves, our own development as an individual, and the spiritual aspect of humanity. Now like I said, I’m no theist, but I’m no atheist either, atheists are just as bad as theists. Both of them are so sure of their beliefs, when in reality, we as humans don’t really know anything at all. What we don’t know, greatly outnumbers what we do know in the grand scheme of things. Science, religion, they both take faith, and theists and atheists alike, both preach certainty, and condemn the other in their own equally negative ways. I don’t believe in any organized religion, but that doesn’t mean I don’t believe that there could be more out there, more possible, more then how we exist right now. And that’s what I feel like this song is addressing in its own way. Restoring the sense of wonder in humanity.
