We disown the power given to us.

[{LAW} Gamer_2k4]

Blindly following the will of one.
Tyranny by choice.  Is freedom free?
We disown the power given to us.
Outrage without action.  A cause without will.
Like a moth to a candle, we ignore our doom.
Change is possible.  We stand idle.
We disown the power given to us.

[Graham]

Did you actually write this or do we have another m00 posting crappy lyrics?

[a-4-year-old]

What's that? I'm sorry I couldn't hear you over the noise of capitalism at work.

Seriously though, do you really think that? I can honestly say that my government/life beats the hell out of it's competition.

[Blue-ninja]

This is better.

Beautiful, when sung, it's even haunting.

[SadistAtHeart]

Blindly following the will of one.
Tyranny by choice.  Is freedom free?
We disown the power given to us.
Outrage without action.  A cause without will.
Like a moth to a candle, we ignore our doom.
Change is possible.  We stand idle.
We disown the power given to us.

That's nice. Did you write it?

This is better.

Beautiful, when sung, it's even haunting.

Obsessed with elfen lied much?

[Cookie.]

What's that? I'm sorry I couldn't hear you over the noise of capitalism at work.

Seriously though, do you really think that? I can honestly say that my government/life beats the hell out of it's competition.

Let me guess your an American?  Assuming this, there are a lot of places that are much better to live than America with better governments

[Captain Ben]

does this have anything to do with global warming?

Did you actually write this or do we have another m00 posting crappy lyrics?

i didn't know mods could flame

[Cookie.]

does this have anything to do with global warming?

Did you actually write this or do we have another m00 posting crappy lyrics?

i didn't know mods could flame

Perhaps he is a pseudo mod.

And I got a global warming vibe from it as well.

[Blue-ninja]

Did you actually write this or do we have another m00 posting crappy lyrics?

i didn't know mods could flame

Moderators are human, just like us. They can still get killed by "Fan Death"

This is better.

Beautiful, when sung, it's even haunting.

Obsessed with elfen lied much?

Yes. Only though I finished watching the last episode about a few months ago. I've almost forgotten all of it. Then I heard the opening music on youtube, saw a missing episode at bolt.com. I've been listening to lilium and the saint version since.

[a-4-year-old]

What's that? I'm sorry I couldn't hear you over the noise of capitalism at work.

Seriously though, do you really think that? I can honestly say that my government/life beats the hell out of it's competition.

Let me guess your an American?  Assuming this, there are a lot of places that are much better to live than America with better governments

Like what? Socialism and communism both suck ass.

[PANZERCATWAGON]

I am not a number, I am a free man.

[Lord Frunkamunch]

What's that? I'm sorry I couldn't hear you over the noise of capitalism at work.

Seriously though, do you really think that? I can honestly say that my government/life beats the hell out of it's competition.

Let me guess your an American?  Assuming this, there are a lot of places that are much better to live than America with better governments

Like what? Socialism and communism both suck ass.

And of course, America is the only non-communist country on Earth.

[{depth}shaman]

Change is possible. I'm an activist and have been a to a number of protests. The most important thing one can do without actively pursueing change is watch what you buy. Example: Kellog's donates millions of dollars to the republican party. If you don't like bush, then why do you help him with each bowl of tony the tiger?

[Cookie.]

Change is possible. I'm an activist and have been a to a number of protests. The most important thing one can do without actively pursueing change is watch what you buy. Example: Kellog's donates millions of dollars to the republican party. If you don't like bush, then why do you help him with each bowl of tony the tiger?

Because "They're Grrreat!"

[Dascoo]

This is better.

Beautiful, when sung, it's even haunting.

Sure, sounds beautiful probably best OP I've seen, but why are you posting it in this thread?

And the poem lawmaker posted is win.

[{LAW} Gamer_2k4]

Saved from the second page!

As far as I know, the poem or whatever you want to call it is original.  The style was inspired by the song Carbon by VNV Nation.  The theme kinda came to me when I was bored and started thinking about the United States government.  In theory, it's a great system.  It would be impractical to get everyone to vote on everything, so instead, the people chose leaders to represent them.  Anyway, I was listening to a song a while back, and one of the phrases stuck with me.  "Praising our leaders."  I thought, when was the last time our leaders, the people we put into power by our own choice, did anything praiseworthy? No doubt it happens once in a while, but it definitely doesn't happen as often as it should.  People may say, "So the system is a little broken.  It's still better than the alternatives." How is that a valid attitude, especially from the people who cry out for stronger security when events like 9/11 and school shootings occur?  In situations like that, the cry seems to be, "The system is broken and needs to be fixed, now!"

Here's where it gets complicated.  Think about the results of 9/11.  The Patriot Act? Why don't you burn the Constitution right now? And what good has it really accomplished? "Well, obviously it's good.  There hasn't been another terrorist attack, has there?"  You know why? Because terrorism is RARE.  One person brings liquid explosives on a plane, and now no one can bring any liquids? What happens if a really strong guy gets on the plane, breaks open the cockpit door, and kills the pilot? Do you stop strong people from getting on planes?  I hope not.  Counter-terrorism acts are basically the same as locking the gate after the cattle have run away.  It's not going to fix anything.  So, in this case, you DO have to say, "The system is flawed, but overall, it works."  The alternative is the loss of privacy due to things such as the Patriot Act.  Patrick Henry said, "Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, almighty God!" The same holds true today.  Of course, the "chains" are metaphorical, but it still applies.  It's better to be free and live with the chance of a little danger than to be sheltered and controlled by our government.  So yes, "The system is flawed, but overall, it works."

But that's where it gets complicated! I criticized the people with that sort of double standard, but it was because their way of thinking was the opposite of what it should be.  If anything, we should expect nothing but perfection from our government, and cut some slack to life in general.  Think about hate crimes.  Since when is the government allowed to limit our emotions?  So some Muslims or Mexicans get bothered.  So what? We have the right to free speech.  They do not have the right to not be offended.

And here's where people get upset.  But do they do anything? Anything that really changes the way the government runs things? Do they get the unconstitutional laws reversed?  No.  "Outrage without action."  Yes, change is possible.  The system can work.  But we don't DO anything! The government will keep taking freedom away in the name of "security" and "equal rights" until we won't be free at all!  We're blindly taking orders until all freedom is effectively gone!  The voice was more calm, more passive in the poem, but this is important!

Anyway, I posted this without an explanation because I wanted to spark some discussion and see how people reacted.  It's good to know this is universal enough to cover capitalism and global warming, as well as my original message.  Now that you know what I was talking about, any more thoughts?

[Blue-ninja]

This is better.

Beautiful, when sung, it's even haunting.

Sure, sounds beautiful probably best OP I've seen, but why are you posting it in this thread?

And the poem lawmaker posted is win.

Whoops I should have made a Elfin Lied thread.

Anyway, {LAW} Gamer's song owns.

[The Philanthropist]

But that's where it gets complicated! I criticized the people with that sort of double standard, but it was because their way of thinking was the opposite of what it should be.  If anything, we should expect nothing but perfection from our government, and cut some slack to life in general.  Think about hate crimes.  Since when is the government allowed to limit our emotions?  So some Muslims or Mexicans get bothered.  So what? We have the right to free speech.  They do not have the right to not be offended.

I don't really see freedom as black and white as you put it. Do you want freedom to the point where you can hurt others with your freedom? People have no trouble outlawing the distributions of hate propaganda. Sure, it takes away some of your freedom, but it stops hate. It's a tradeoff.  Slowly, as the want for political correctness increases, more people voice their discontent at the limitations put upon them by their government and self imposed ones by society. There will be a point when we can no longer push ourselves that extra inch away from total idealogical freedom, and we will have reached a relatively happy medium. I have no issues not bringing liquids on a plane if it makes a few people happy. Do you want to spread hate propaganda, or would it just comfort you with the fact that you COULD publish hate?


The problem with the system is that people are in charge of it. You can't expect perfection from an imperfect human. The best way to achieve perfection is use all the human resources available to you, instead of limiting the power to representatives who hopefully carry your needs to attention. But the problem with that is that the people (citizens) are not so well versed in the issues. Once again, a tradeoff. Give the power to the people who know what they are talking about, but run the greater risk of imperfection. I think Winston Churchhill said some along the lines of "Democracy is not the best system, just the best one we have right now." I'm pretty sure it was him... Somebody said it.