Balancing the Handlebars

2008-07-19T23:01:00.002-04:00

For those of you that have not seen/heard the Flobots' song "Handlebars", I highly suggest checking it out. Besides being a good song, it has something deep to say - which for intellectuals is a breath of fresh air compared to a lot of the music that has come out recently.

The video shows the mind's eye of one individual going in opposite directions - one giving of self to help the masses, the other glorifying personal success and power. The video comes full circle with the powerful superego coming to the realization of his excesses when he destroys his alternative psyche, a revolutionary leader looking to overthrow the "tyranny" of the adverse persona. The talents of this individual are being used for opposing ends, but the means ultimately cloud the initial intent, skewing the final results.

The first link is Flobots' video; the second is one that uses real life images. Both effective in their own way:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=AuK2A1ZqoWs

http://youtube.com/user/WrAth2110

It would be naive to think the Britney Spears era of music has been the first round of melodious toxicity the world has experienced, but that is a microcosm into the thoughts of those unwilling to delve into deeper thought - unfortunately, that incorporates the majority of those with whom we have daily interactions. Have we as a culture completely written off historical analysis? Are we so obtuse that we believe what we are currently going through is conceptually new? For example, take the 2008 Oil Crisis - 1970's? 2008 Financial meltdown - 1930's? 1970's? 1992? 1998? To garner a realistic grasp of what we are currently facing, how can we look at it in a vacuum? Is that laziness, stupidity, ignorance, fear, politics or all of the above?

I believe it is all of the above because, to a degree, we are all guilty of some category of intellectual incompetence, but the attempt to overcome it is what separates the scholars from the ignorant. Are we being led by scholars? Does our current political system enable scholars to truly lead? Even if a scholar is leading, can we define what is the "best" thing to do because everyone will be affected differently? Is that concept Communism?

Marx clearly laid out his theories, but when applied in the real world they turned into disaster. Communism isn't a bad THEORY, but its application in the real world destroyed the connotation of the concept, rendering it useless. Can theory effectively translate into real life when dealing with so many different ideologies, philosophies, religions, egos? The vehicles through which these 2008 "crises" are being presented are different, but conceptually they are the same as many crises past.

Not to be trite, but the internal struggle between "right" and "wrong" is always the same story. Why do you think Hollywood can sell you the same movie at higher prices every time?! Alas, what this song describes/depicts are these two sides. Good or bad. Right or wrong. Success of failure. Rich or poor. Democrat or Republican. Marx or Stalin.

It is SO easy to define anything in two vague extremes, which is a societal problem the song depicts, but why do we need to always try and find a simple explanation for EVERYTHING? Everyday I read articles pinpointing blame: It's the speculators causing oil to go up. It's the weak dollar. It's supply and demand. It's greed. It's capitalism. It's the free market. How about it's ALL OF THEM. Each part has its own contribution. Trying to define one overriding theme is a detriment to a timely solution which is why we find our local and national governments stumbling on themselves so often! Because we end up at the points with which we see ourselves in July 2008 doesn't mean one ideal has gotten us here, so why do we feel the need to put it in that box?

If you find yourself wanting to argue against my insight, you are proving me right. I am certainly not saying I have the answer to all of these problems because I don't, but the more solutions we can openly throw on the table, the closer we come to solving our problems and the closer we come to avoid being in a position where we find ourselves killing the two opposing sides of ourselves as individuals, as members of a city, as members of a country, and as members of mankind.

Mosaic of a Mind

Balancing the Handlebars