This song is a perfect sample to take to illustrate why popular music is so atrocious. Lyrically the song consists of a long string of extremely overused clichés and imagery and instrumentally it is utterly uncreative and if it weren’t for the lyrics one would be very hard pressed to tell the difference from an array of songs. The song exemplifies some common components of popular music across genres. The majority of popular music uses the same concepts, often the same imagery and lyrical content, for the most part is extremely unimaginative, and to put it bluntly is simple. This trend isn’t localized to music, popular television and movies follow the same path. Why is it as a society we idolize the simplicity of these artistic mediums while more in depth and symbolic art takes a backseat as “underground”? Dr. House is the remarkably intelligent and perceptive doctor from the television series “House” which is one of the few popular shows that has complicated character relationships and an in depth plot. One of Dr. House’s character traits is that in spite of his intelligence, he enjoys simple mind numbing pleasures such as soap operas, strip clubs, and video games. Art and media that is intelligent and has substance to it, pushes us to reflect on the world around us and more importantly ourselves. Dr. House is constantly trying to avoid confronting his demons and would rather enjoy simple pleasures rather than face the truth (Brave New World). Could this be the reason for the content of popular music? As a society would we rather be blissfully ignorant or truthfully authentic?

Price Gouging

This picture simply states the fact “Price gouging is illegal following a declared State of Emergency.” Florida is not the only state to invoke laws banning the raising of prices on essential goods after a natural disaster and many other states have fines up to $25,000 for “price gouging.” Is it morally wrong though? Prices allocate goods in market systems and when supplies fall short when demand soars it is called a shortage. If prices aren’t raised when shortages occur then it’s very hard for suppliers to sustain the supply of a certain good because consumers buy much more of the good then they need. If we expect customers to be able to receive the essential goods they need in an emergency, why then is it illegal for suppliers to attempt to compensate for a highly increased demand by raising prices? It is the consensus among economists that price gouging is a positive force that allows the market to function efficiently, benefits the supplier and the consumer, and saves lives. Why then do politicians make laws banning price gouging from happening? The people see price gouging as an immoral and evil thing to do, the media portrays it in the same light, and politicians react in their favor despite the fact that is actually quite the opposite of immoral and evil. If politicians know that price gouging is beneficial but the people are against it, is it ethical for them to act with the people or against them for their own good?

O brave new world, That has such people in't!"

Brave New World is a novel written by Aldous Huxley that explores a society set in the future that is much different from ours today. Driven by technology, stability, and equity this civilization is Huxley’s warning as to what could happen to our own society if technology were to take over and also a satire of the society that the author lived in. One of the major themes in the book is the affinity of truth and happiness. The major question asked on the subject is can the two exist together in their totality? Real scientific exploration was totally inhibited and was instead replaced only with scientific research that would promote happiness among the people such as “feelie” movies and soma. The arts were destroyed and works such as Shakespeare and The Bible were replaced by meaningless music and assorted scents. There are then two kinds of truth that have been suppressed: empirical truth (scientific, mathematical) and human truths (love, artistry). If we lose these foundations of our own society in the future, do we lose our humanity as well? What defines humanity? As far as truth and happiness are concerned does one take precedent over the other?

Mark Twain

I think Mark Twain's words ring true, as most of his words usually do. I've learned that I hate most of my extended family and the only people I can truly stand to be in a confined space with for a long period of time are people who never challenge my judgment and accept my direction as law. You never really have any disagreements with people who always agree with you =]. It's not just traveling though, spending too much time with anyone enough can cause you to notice the small things about them that annoy you. To take that sentiment even further, too much of anything turns out to be a bad thing.

All things in moderation.