NationStates Jolt Archive

Words and music by John Kay, Jerry Edmonton, Nick St. Nicholas and Larry Byrom

(Monster)
Once the religious, the hunted and weary
Chasing the promise of freedom and hope
Came to this country to build a new vision
Far from the reaches of kingdom and pope
Like good Christians, some would burn the witches
Later some got slaves to gather riches

But still from near and far to seek America
They came by thousands to court the wild
And she just patiently smiled and bore a child
To be their spirit and guiding light

And once the ties with the crown had been broken
Westward in saddle and wagon it went
And 'til the railroad linked ocean to ocean
Many the lives which had come to an end
While we bullied, stole and bought our a homeland
We began the slaughter of the red man

But still from near and far to seek America
They came by thousands to court the wild
And she just patiently smiled and bore a child
To be their spirit and guiding light

The blue and grey they stomped it
They kicked it just like a dog
And when the war over
They stuffed it just like a hog

And though the past has it's share of injustice
Kind was the spirit in many a way
But it's protectors and friends have been sleeping
Now it's a monster and will not obey

(Suicide)
The spirit was freedom and justice
And it's keepers seem generous and kind
It's leaders were supposed to serve the country
But now they won't pay it no mind
'Cause the people grew fat and got lazy
And now their vote is a meaningless joke
They babble about law and order
But it's all just an echo of what they've been told
Yeah, there's a monster on the loose
It's got our heads into a noose
And it just sits there watchin'

Our cities have turned into jungles
And corruption is stranglin' the land
The police force is watching the people
And the people just can't understand
We don't know how to mind our own business
'Cause the whole worlds got to be just like us
Now we are fighting a war over there
No matter who's the winner
We can't pay the cost
'Cause there's a monster on the loose
It's got our heads into a noose
And it just sits there watching

(America)
America where are you now?
Don't you care about your sons and daughters?
Don't you know we need you now
We can't fight alone against the monster

© Copyright MCA Music (BMI)
All rights for the USA controlled and administered by
MCA Corporation of America, INC

Ok... Are you going to explain your thinking or were you under the assumption I planned to crack open your skull, attach elctrodes to your nuts and use it to read your thoughts?

Ok... Are you going to explain your thinking or were you under the assumption I planned to crack open your skull, attach elctrodes to your nuts and use it to read your thoughts?
Mind reading is a useful skill nowadays, especially on NS :p

I'm sensing mass confusion from the ranks of my fellow Generalites...

/johnedwards

Ok... Are you going to explain your thinking or were you under the assumption I planned to crack open your skull, attach elctrodes to your nuts and use it to read your thoughts?

Although, that is somehow more appealing than just having it explained to us. ;)

Although, that is somehow more appealing than just having it explained to us. ;)
Sort of like an open ended essay :p

Do you think the op fits this title?

http://redwing.hutman.net/%7Emreed/warriorshtm/loopy.htm

Obviously no deep thinkers here.

It's leaders were supposed to serve the country
But now they won't pay it no mind

Do the leaders serve the people or are they serving special interests and their own interests?

Cause the people grew fat and got lazy
And now their vote is a meaningless joke

Do people think about what they are voting on or do they vote on the emotion of the moment? We elected a Pres. on gay marriage and calling a war hero a coward, while a war avoider was called a war hero.

They babble about law and order
But it's all just an echo of what they've been told

How many arguements are just repeats of "talk radio"?

Our cities have turned into jungles
And corruption is stranglin' the land

Just read the news about who's going to trial today.

The police force is watching the people
And the people just can't understand

"Patriot Act"?

We don't know how to mind our own business
'Cause the whole worlds got to be just like us

Let's just give every country our culture and form of government.

Now we are fighting a war over there
No matter who's the winner
We can't pay the cost

I need to explain this?


A Steppenwolf song that was a hit in 1970.......It could be sung today without changing a word......I know most of you weren't even a twinkle in the eye then......Those of us who were there really wanted the nation to be better for our children......Where are those idealists.....How do they justify doing the same things and worse?......Where are the youth tody?.....Aristotle said that the youth were needed to keep the olders from being corrupt...It is the job of the youth in society to be the idealists and demanders of change when they see evil...American youth---Where are you now?

Oh, I get it. You're wondering where the hippies went, and why they didn't take over the government.

Oh, I get it. You're wondering where the hippies went, and why they didn't take over the government.
More importantly, where did the idealism of youth go? Why aren't the youth demanding a better world? Why are the youth allowing the same, and even arguing for the corruption of 35 years ago?

The youth of are as corrupt and in the same proportions as elders, unfortunately, and they'd happily make the same mistakes given the chance as long as it benefitted them personally. The youth aren't demanding a better world because they can see that current one is going to be easy to exploit once they're in a position to do so.

More importantly, where did the idealism of youth go? Why aren't the youth demanding a better world? Why are the youth allowing the same, and even arguing for the corruption of 35 years ago?

First, the hippies of the earlier generation either died of drug overdoses, or more likely, wised up, got haircuts and jobs, and raised families. Reality set in.

And we are demanding a better world - just not the ideal world that you believe in.

First, the hippies of the earlier generation either died of drug overdoses, or more likely, wised up, got haircuts and jobs, and raised families. Reality set in.

And we are demanding a better world - just not the ideal world that you believe in.

Reality sets in. That is to be expected. That is why the old don't demand a better world. That is the pattern of every generation. Aristotle said the same. That is why a culture needs youth.

What are the youth demanding? I haven't heard a youth fighting for anything to improve since I became old. It is the job of the youth to make old people like me feel uncomfortable with that reality in which we live. Youth can ignore that reality and demand a better world. Again, What are youth demanding?

And we are demanding a better world - just not the ideal world that you believe in.

But why can't we demand that world? Why suffer corruption and unfairness?

tag

Mind reading is a useful skill nowadays, especially on NS :p
Hey! There's NO WAY I wanna know what's in the minds of some of these folks! [ shudders ]

But why can't we demand that world? Why suffer corruption and unfairness?

Define ideal first. Young people are far more skeptical of any attempt to market any idea to them - it makes it very hard to get everyone on the same note, singing the same song, following the same ideal.

In a way, the people who followed Hitler were the first group pushed by political marketing to follow an "ideal". They had no experience in this, so they followed en masse. But that was radio and the occasional film or parade.

The first TV generation (what we're referring to as hippies) were bombarded by a monotone from a grand total of three news networks that were inescapable - it was easy to sell the message because you couldn't really change channels to other content.

Now kids have the Internet and over 100 channels of TV. They don't have to listen to anyone - they can pick and choose their ideals like people at a salad bar. They can even broadcast their own ideas.

That's why.

There's no way to define ideal, as it is a relative term. That's why I've never really understood why someone hasn't yet committed omnicide. But are you suggesting we do away with choice, so that we can have a uniform ideal?

There's no way to define ideal, as it is a relative term. That's why I've never really understood why someone hasn't yet committed omnicide. But are you suggesting we do away with choice, so that we can have a uniform ideal?

No, but it was easier to talk people into a uniform ideal in the past. It's damn near impossible today.

What are the youth demanding? I haven't heard a youth fighting for anything to improve since I became old. It is the job of the youth to make old people like me feel uncomfortable with that reality in which we live. Youth can ignore that reality and demand a better world. Again, What are youth demanding?

Cell phones, iPods, xboxes... that about covers it.. :p

Obviously no deep thinkers here.

[..snip..]

A Steppenwolf song [..snip..] [bolding mine]

thou shalt not use the name of the lord in vain.

[bolding mine]

thou shalt not use the name of the lord in vain.
I never saw Steppenwolf as G-d. It was the animal, or more deeply, evil side of the human. Sort of the id as opposed to the ego or super ego. It is about the struggle we all go through each day to overcome our instincts and our longings.

But as for as the thread, I never thought of it this way, But it seems society has this same struggle. We still love war, leaders who serve themself, voters who decide on emotion, corruption of the powerful, following echos rather than thinking, Demanding the world follow our culture and beliefs, demanding less freedom for security.

The struggle goes on. As a youth, we don't see the struggle. The answer is obvious. But as we become old and look back we see no change. We, by living our lives, acomplished nothing. All is as it was.

I understand why those who can look back become discouraged and hardened. But I don't understand why the steppenwolf, the evil of our personalities, is no longer a concern of youth. 35 years or 3000 years, will the same words be as relevant as when they were written? Or, because we no longer fight for the ideal, will the base of our personality win?

Why can't society and civilization improve? Why can't we say that our youth will live in a better world? Why do we allow the same repeats over and over? Why is there no attempt today to make at least a try at a better world?

Yes, my generation failed. We have given our children the same list of evil we inherited. Does this need to go on forever?

a) don't take me serious on the god thing, dear.

b)defining the steppenwolf as the evil side/personality is simplistic, misleading, and ignorant of the context (referring to the book here). mind you, i've even gone as far as learning whole pages of it by heart once so don't argue unless informed :)

c) i, as someone you might still classify as "youth", take offense in being called "not idealistic", "not seeing the strugge", and/or "following the echo rather than thinking". oh, and i don't believe them to be true, either.

d) i feel "the world and society" to have "improved" quite some over the last hundreds of years as well as the last decades (maybe not always at the pace i'd wish for, but still), and i do feel like living in a "better world" than the one my parents happened t be children in in many regards.

so. cheer up, i'd say.

[and please do not disqualify people by saying they wouldn't be "deep thinkers" just because they don't share your outlook on these things. i don't claim the label for myself, yet i still felt that comment to be out of place]