“The Revolution will not be televised”- Gil Scott-Heron
I spent a small chunk of my Sunday listening to Pharoahe Monch’s ‘W.A.R (We Are Renegades)’ album. It invoked feelings of rebellion and revolution. It made me want to get up, whip up Molotov cocktails and throw up my ‘Black Power’ fist! I exaggerate a little (maybe a lot), but it did invoke some kind of revolutionary feelings within me. But that’s the sad thing; it only invoked feelings, and not action. There is no civil war or need for a violent uprising in our not-so-great nation, but there is a need for fundamental rethinking. The problem is, I do not try to inspire my fellow man to be conscious; because like most ‘intellectuals’, I’d rather make social commentary from the safety of the couch at home.
They say ignorance is bliss. It’s a shame how people are so comfortable in their lack of knowledge...wallowing in their own ignorance like pigs in their own filth, oblivious to the fact that they are to be slaughtered. No one is getting slaughtered in my part of the world (at least not yet. The apocalypse isn’t due for another eleventy million years), but in a metaphorical sense they are. People are getting short changed all the time, robbed in broad daylight, simply because they lack knowledge. You hear drunk people yell, ‘I know my rights!’, when they get arrested for something. Half the time this isn’t true. The papers or news have constant reports on the constitutional review process, and very few people take an interest in these affairs. I too am guilty of this crime. And as a result, laws that aren’t even tailored to the people’s needs are passed. Religion is a touchy subject and people follow interpretations of the bible so blindly. Religious leaders are capitalising on people’s ignorance and giving them false hope. Religion does provide answers, but not all of them. People need to be critical in what they accept as truth.
The media is not helping matters either. The songs that get radio spins or constant airplay are usually the most stupid. Songs so simple their catchy tunes forcibly become tenants in our poor minds. I’m not against feel good songs or party tracks (well, not entirely), but dammit, put some effort in your song writing! I‘m not asking for master pieces or complex fibonacci sequences, I’m only asking for a little substance. Because sometimes all these songs do is influence even more nonsense on social media. Hashtag this and hashtag that! Rihanna and Chris brown do not necessarily have an obligation to be role models, but they sure as hell are worsening the situation. The youngin’s don’t realise that these tunes and videos are manufactured to keep them thinking that bands WILL make her dance! Instagram, Facebook and Twitter have people acting like they have no dignity. We all love boobs and half naked pics, but what do those pictures say about you and your self worth?
The machine is so well oiled with the blood, sweat and tears of the blue (AND white) collar workers. We are told from when we are snot nosed naive children that we need to go to school, earn our papers and maintain the cycle. I’m all for education and I weep for those that aren’t able to gain a proper one; but the curriculum doesn’t have to make us such sheep. We aren’t told that we can gain so much more from school than just high school certificates, diplomas and degrees. School is supposed to open our minds to particular ways of thinking; to be even more curious and seek more knowledge. Surely there is more to life than a role in an accounting department, a beamer and a plot in an emerging suburb. Of course the answer to the question, ‘What is life?’ can’t be taught in the curriculum, but there are probably ways school could help point the young whippersnappers in the right direction!
Now, I have a blog on the interwebs and I could use this as a mouth piece to educate the masses. I could use it to spread knowledge and mould the malleable youth’s minds. For with great power comes great responsibility, right? Unfortunately ladies and germs, I do not have all the answers. I (probably like you) am waiting on someone else to do something. I guess in a way, I do my part. I write short fiction and possibly help people learn new words. But I am not doing much if what I write does not invoke certain feelings; if what I write doesn’t get people to think a certain way and make changes to our ailing society. ‘The revolution will not be televised’ simply means whatever fundamental change is needed in the world begins with us, it begins with our own thinking. We need to dig deep within ourselves and seek change for the good of us all. It will not be shown on MTV OR the BBC. But I’ll still be on this couch flicking the channels, waiting...
