Rage

I was listening to Rage Against the Machine on my way into school this morning, and "Settle for Nothing" really made me think again of Sherman Alexie's Smoke Signals, so I thought I'd post the lyrics and a link to the video (don't click on this link if you prefer not to listen to hard music--it's not easy listening by any stretch of the imagination).

The lines in particular that got me thinking were, "Read my writing on the wall/ No-one's here to catch me when I fall/ Caught between my culture and the system."  In Rage Against the Machine, the anger transforms into a call to action, and yet the anger is also laced with a sense of despair.  To be caught between one's culture and the system seems in this song to be an almost hopeless position--one that leads to crime, suicide, and other forms of violence against the self and others.

It seems to me that Victor is fighting against this same type of despair, but he uses humor to keep him level.  Of course, he hasn't exactly become a productive citizen--Thomas reminds him that he hasn't got a job and has been "moping around the reservation" for years--but he has resisted the alcoholism and other self-destructive behaviors that so many of his peers fall victim to.  ("Hatred passed on, passed on and passed on.")

At any rate, for what it's worth, I thought I'd post the connection to music from a difference cultural experience since it seemed to tap into the same emotional well.

(I suppose I should add a disclaimer to say I don't endorse any of their views, etc, etc, but I do recommend thinking about them--but hopefully you all know me well enough by this point to know that this is how I feel about texts in general.  Anthony Kiedis of the Red Hot Chili Peppers once sung about listening to Public Enemy, saying "I listen to the music that makes me think."  Amen, brother.  Amen.)

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A jail cell is freedom from the pain in my home
Hatred passed on, passed on and passed on
A world of violent rage
But it's one that I can recognize
Having never seen the color of my father's eyes
Yes, I dwell in hell, but it's a hell that I can grip
I tried to grip my family
But I slipped

To escape from the pain in an existence mundane
I got a 9, a sign, a set and now I gotta name

Read my writing on the wall
No-one's here to catch me when I fall
Death is on my side....suicide!

A jail cell is freedom from the pain in my home
Hatred passed on, passed on and passed on
A world of violent rage
But it's one that I can recognize
Having never seen the color of my father's eyes
Yes, I dwell in hell, but it's a hell that I can grip
I tried to grip my family
But I slipped

To escape from the pain in an existence mundane
I got a 9, a sign, a set and now I gotta name

Read my writing on the wall
No-one's here to catch me when I fall
Caught between my culture and the system....genocide!

Read my writing on the wall
No-one's here to catch me when I fall
If ignorance is bliss, then knock the smile off my face
Yeah!

If we don't take action now
We settle for nothing later
Settle for nothing now
And we'll settle for nothing later
If we don't take action now
We settle for nothing later
We'll settle for nothing now
And we'll settle for nothing later

If we don't take action now
We'll settle for nothing later
We settle for nothing now
And we'll settle for nothing later
If we don't take action now
We settle for nothing later
We'll settle for nothing now
And we'll settle for nothing later