Mechanize

We live in an age where technology runs rampant, and we are constantly immersed in it. Of course, the internet that is only about 20 years old have been a part of our lives, probably an extremely part of our lives. However, with the advances of the internet, it comes with potential dangers – misinformation, and spreading of misinformation.

As with all projects, one must do extensive research on the topic of their choosing, the internet serves as a medium between its users and the rest of the world. It gives the user the convenience of finding things with a few keystrokes. However, not all these materials present an impartial view towards a subject. In a world where users can masked themselves as anyone who they choose to be, it is difficult to determine whether a source is credible or not. This is the most likely one of the pitfalls of technology.

This proves to be challenging for good and bad researchers alike as they have to plow through biases and misinformation.  Thus it might hinder these people from developing their own individual opinions.

With technology I am able to create this blog post for the world to see, it makes information sharing extremely easy as if everyone around the world is only separated with the click of a button. But alas, I digress. The biases that everyone has will most likely be left in the information they present to the world. It is in the user’s hands to filter and come up with their own individual opinions.

Conjuring the Thoughts

Personally, when I partake in school research projects, I usually would take up topics that interest me yet at the same time provides me with a challenge. This topic is no different, as I find it extremely interesting how a small group of people are able to rise through the sea of mediocrity and attain power, through words and “promises” of a better future and how some people can come to the conclusion that you are morally inferior if you do not share the same religious views as them, which probably was imposed upon them when they were young, but that might be a generalization. These two topics alone incited many controversies throughout the progression of history, but people rarely put these two together. What I have done is simply doing 1+1, but the results yield a far more surprising answer. Similar to my approach in composing music,by playing certain note sequences together, the sound of the passage change and sometime even create a new emotion among the listeners. This is exactly the “new emotion”.

However, upon beginning my research, I have discovered that this issue of “political religion” is not only its own parasitic entity; it ties different sectors of society together and create this form of control which is brilliantly and silently imposed on us. But, we as a society are completely blinded of this issue. I wanted to bring this issue to light, and hopefully the readers of my blog post can pass this information on to others. Like my suggestion for the first step of change in my last post, spreading awareness. I believe that there is a bias that when a person critiques public entities such as religion and politics, they will be looked at in a different light, some may find these people brave for voicing out their concerns, some find these people to be the instigators of conflicts due to them not conforming to societal demands. I have been called many things and these are some of them. In the end, I just want to hopefully present the information I have gathered to the world with the least bias possible, however I am aware that my highly opinionated personality does not allow me to do so.

With the extensive amount of research material that are presented to me, my understanding of this issue has definitely increased because of the massive wave of information which I would have never thought of. It is truly eye-opening to discover that this is only a piece of the global operation that is oppression, a very little piece as well. To think that we live in a democratic society and would not be affected by a term that is so foreign to the first world, oppression. We are molded to believe that we are not affected, but in fact, we are in the middle of this. It is because of our status as a first world country that oppression is not visible.

This blogging experience taught me a valuable lesson which I will take on in life. Although we may be in a first world country, but global issues like this affects all of us. I end this post with these words, nothing is the absolute truth, question your surroundings and be the voice of the voiceless.

No More Power Games

So, after four long posts about politics and religion, all of which had me viewing the issue in an impartial light, I want to use this post to address some of my concerns and thoughts. I never considered myself a religious person; I was forced to attend a catholic school in my elementary years, so, religion never really affected me as a person. The occasional sermon never inspired me, as I felt that it was too “restricting”. It restricted me to a certain lifestyle, which limited my individuality. Of course, I didn’t think of it this way back then, but now it seems like the likely conclusion.
 

My mother is a born-again Christian. Luckily, she does not force religion on me, unlike many other people I know. A lot of people have to withhold certain values due to their culture and background. Some people do not even have a say in their beliefs, as they are taught certain values from a young age. These values remain attached to them as they grow, and gradually become their own values. The cycle repeats with their offspring, of course. From my understanding, religion is an outlet to promote “faith“, which is what truly contributes to our spiritual development. However, I feel that many people misinterpret faith as religion. Most politicians see this misunderstanding, and utilize this to their advantage.

I really did not care for this issue until I realized that this has happened consistently throughout history. Authority figures realize that the masses are following a religion, or a person and they will utilize that to further their manipulation on society, dictating its morals, values, and thoughts. It is just as if they are stripping them of their individuality, and replacing them with ideas and values that complement the rule; they don’t tolerate any opposition, of course. I feel as if the society we live in is built upon centuries of abuse and oppression. 

Upon hearing, and realizing, that oppression runs amok in this world, I failed to realize that as long as there are oppressors, there will be a resistance. All throughout history, when a tyrant took rule of a land, there were groups which actively resisted. It is no different now, and I wish I could say that I am one of the rebels; oppression has no place in today’s society. I can not imagine my children living in a world run through inequality and oppression, and molded to start conflicts because of narrow-minded people in power.

 
Politics and religion are only two mere pieces of a large puzzle, the completed piece spells “oppression“. They are tools, used by oppressors to further pressure us into conforming to their morality, values, or a dangerous lack of both. It is as if they breed greed and hate among us, just to keep the wheel of oppression rolling. Individually, the concepts of politics and religion are completely harmless, as I mentioned in my first post. Add manipulation into the mix, and voila, you have the most dangerous weapons ever designed. This concoction’s place in our current society is quite disturbing; I say it with great disgust: we are all a part of this global operation. However, awareness leads to realization, and hopefully, we can do something about this.

As a musician, I stand for the freedom of expression and thought. Although the genre of Heavy Metal is generally misunderstood for its lyrical content and portrayal of politics and religion, it is somewhat eye-opening to find that some lyrics shed lights on social issues, such as the manipulation of the public from religious organizations, or even the false justification of war used by our dear politicians. A certain song by a Swedish metal group, Arch Enemy, discusses how the church has utilized religion as an excuse for bloodshed by forcing its beliefs onto the weak. Even though it is a song, it shows that these musicians are willing to express their feelings, and expose the oppression that is in our society - through the sheer power of their art. I look up to these people as examples to follow, and wish to use musical instruments as instruments of change.

Warning: Music contains death growls so it might not be easy for you to hear the lyrics.

Also I do not own the rights to this song.

Even though it might seem grueling for us, the oppressed have to stand up against the oppressors. In the end, if we are all united, there is no way for the oppressors to succeed. There are many instances in history, in which whole societies came back from the verge of self-destruction. It is our generation that is going to fight this battle for our future, and for our children. Even though this oppression is systematically implanted within the foundations of society, we, as individuals and members of the community, can bring forth the first steps of change by resisting and spreading awareness of this oppression.
 

One for all - all for one. 

We are strong – we are one
 ~ Nemesis