Beautiful Struggle

beyond borders

i want to escape these check-marked boxes,

make a beeline for the border,

into a land without borders,

where we all share and don't really care,

who has what or how they got it.

i want to feel passionate love without pain,

asking nothing of each other, yet giving lots.

i want to skip back in time to innocence lost,

wade through the self-loathing and disgust,

to bathe in wonder, awe and dreams.

i want to write meaningful words,

that resonate in centuries,

freeing the minds of even 

the most embittered souls.

 

rotting minds

if a mind is really such a terrible thing to waste,

why do so many people let theirs rot?

why is the news a circus freak show,

of the same stories repeated with similar casts,

sprinkled with babies, puppies and violence,

a strange rerun for a modern age,

hooking in the audiences day after day.

i don't give a fuck what celebrity cheated,

who has the villa in southern france,

or why so-and-so's dress costs so much.

what concerns me more is who the hell

are we bombing now? when will people

see beyond the lies, the same ol' scripts

should only work so long.

before the powerless rise up

and say stop. fuck your news,

fuck your lies, fuck your politicians.

i need food, i need life, and i deserve

to be treated like a human being.

What if...thoughts on power and rebellion

I just got finished watching the movie "If...," a 1968 film about the harsh realities of life in a British boarding school, and some students' actions to fight back. The movie has been a counter establishment hit with some and a much-criticized endorsement of violence to others. Tupac said it was one of his favorite movies, and this, along with my friend's recommendation, spurred me to check it out. Before I give my two cents, I'll give a brief summary of the film:

The movie chronicles the lives of some boys in a strict British boarding school, where there is a stiff hierarchical structure and certain senior students are favored and given rank over others. These students, called Whips, often gang up on and act out in violence against their fellow classmates. The masters and teachers at the school also physically punish and verbally assault the students, and they favor the Whips above the others, turning a blind eye to their bullying. To sum it up, some "delinquent" students form a small group and their rebellion escalates into violence at the end of the film.

I think this film depicts a very relevant and modern reality of the structure of not only British society, but American society as well. The movie has similarities that are eerily similar to school massacres in the U.S., as well as Europe. The hierarchical structure of the school, the violent punishments, the intolerance of difference and the system's reliance on the rhetoric of violence and hierarchy, such as school and national pride, are all themes coursing through the veins of America today.

I do not think the film endorses violence but rather makes an attempt to understand the root causes and breeding grounds of violence. For instance, the boys at the school are taught to adhere to military-like practices such as drills, resuscitation of nationalistic songs, undergo corporal punishment, and are even taught shooting in the field. So I think it is no surprise that the bullying students mirror the violent, reign-by-fear tactics that they experience daily at the school. Even more, the students who rebel incorporate the shooting and dominance tactics that they have so long been on the underside of to assert themselves after their verbal assertions failed.

In the absence of understanding, self-expression or any positive encouragement, I think it follows naturally that people will feel angry and only feel free to express themselves through fear and violence. I am not saying violence is justified, but rather that domination and control breeds more of the same. In every war, there are two sides, and anyone committing fatal violence is a murderer to someone. I think this would be an excellent film for people to watch today, and it definitely brings up questions of who holds power and how they maintain it, as well as leaves open the possibility for other methods of being.

'Poet'

I adore this song~

"Poet" by Sly and the Family Stone

My only weapon is my pen,
and the frame of mind I'm in.
I'm a songwriter,
A poet.
I'm a songwriter,
A poet.
And the things I flash on everyday,
they all reflect in what I say.

I'm a songwriter,
I'm a poet.
I'm a songwriter,
Oh yeah, a poet.

Beautiful Struggle

"Beautiful Struggle," by Talib Kweli

Inspiration....lyrics below:

This is a tear jerker

The revolution is here, the revolution is here people
I said it once, I'll say it twice
You gots to be ready
The revolution is inside of you
People, the revolution is here, yeah

The revolution's here
No one can lead you off your path
You'll try to change the world
So please excuse me while I laugh (yeah)
No one can change your ways (rock with me for a second)
No one can lead you off your path (come on)
You'll try to change the world
So please excuse me while I laugh

[Verse 1: Talib Kweli]
Yo, I heard it's said the revolution won't be televised
But in the land of milk and honey there's a date you gotta sell it by
Otherwise it just expires and spoils
And these folks jump out the pot when the water too hot
Cause the fire boils inside
You go to church to find you some religion
And all you hear is connivin' and gossip and contradiction and
You try to vote and participate in the government
And the muh'fuckin' Democrats is actin' like Republicans
You join an organization that know black history
But ask them how they plan to make money and it's a mystery
Lookin' for the remedy but you can't see what's hurtin' you
The revolution's here, the revolution is personal
They call me the political rapper
Even after I tell 'em I don't fuck with politics
I don't even follow it
I'm on some KRS, Ice Cube, Chris Wallace shit
Main Source, De La Soul, bumpin' "2Pacalypse Now"

The revolution's here (yeah)
No one can lead you off your path (uh uh)
You'll try to change the world
So please excuse me while I laugh (ha ha, ha ha)
No one can change your ways
No one can lead you off your path (uh uh)
You'll try to change the world ('scuse me)
So please excuse me while I laugh

[Verse 2]
Yo, I speak at schools a lot cause they say I'm intelligent
No, it's cause I'm dope, if I was wack I'd be irrelevant
I'm like the dope in your tracks until your high is settled in
You leanin' to the left, the laughter's the best medicine
But the troubles you have today you just can't laugh away
Stay optimistic, thinking change is gonna come like Donny Hathaway
You have to pray, on top of that, act today
Cause opportunity shrivel away like Tom Hanks in "Cast Away"
Everybody pass away, the pastor prays, the family mournin'
Everybody act accordin' to the season that they born in (You'll try to change the world)
You fight in the streets, start bleedin' 'til the blood is pourin'
In the gutter, mothers cry 'til the Lord be livin' by the sword and
All that folks want is safety, they goin' gun crazy
The same reason Reagan was playin' war games in the '80s
The same reason I always rock dog chains on my babies
The struggle is beautiful, I'm too strong for your slavery

The revolution's here (yeah)
No one can lead you off your path (uh uh)
You'll try to change the world
So please excuse me while I laugh (ha ha, ha ha)
No one can change your ways (yeah)
No one can lead you off your path (uh uh)
You'll try to change the world ('scuse me)
So please excuse me while I laugh (yeah)
The revolution's here
No one can lead you off your path
You'll try to change the world
So please excuse me while I laugh
No one can change your ways
No one can lead you off your path
You'll try to change the world
So please excuse me while I laugh

[Outro: Talib Kweli]
It's a beautiful thing that's happenin' right now
Right now G
Yo, I'm rockin' with my man Hi-Tek on the track right now
We fightin' the good fight
The Beautiful Struggle
Yeah, let's go

(So please excuse me while I laugh)