The Metal

Our nation is divided.

The inhabitants of our homeland are oppressed under a tyrannous government machine. A shadow casts itself over the ruins of broken infrastructure, shattered windows, and charred vehicles. Long have the citizens cried for a hero to emerge from the shadows to save them from this reign of terror. A civil war plagues the land, tearing one body into two casts with each their own shining hero that they hope will usher in a new era of prosperity for our ailing country. One, clouded by controversy of treason covered up behind the most advanced technologies our modern day can provide. The other, accused of being power-hungry and self-absorbed, greed as their motivation. Judgement day draws nearer as the heir to the throne grows weak, his successor to be determined via congregation of the masses. What cataclysmic events could have caused such a siege on our great country? Are these the remnants of a post-apocalyptic brigade? A war-torn nation, shrouded in demise of the inevitable end of days?

No. It's the 2016 Presidental Election.

While the actual timeline may not be as dramatic, it certainly has felt that way the last year or so this debacle has been going on. And here we are, less than a week before election day, some of us still left with more questions than answers. I have purposely tried to stay silent on my blog about the hundreds of headlines and articles over both candidates, mostly due to a lack of information. It only makes sense to shut up about an issue that you know little to nothing of (right?). Perhaps a bit of it was also because I never really knew how to sum up my feelings in just a few paragraphs. Obviously there is just so much attention to detail that demands a narrower explanation for the sake of argument, so every single word counts in conveying your message. As a bit of a brief background, I have always been very committed to American politics as a whole since my freshman year when I started learning about the system and how it works. This election year being my first eligible to vote, I was understandably excited to follow along. In the primary season I was a huge Bernie supporter, then when things didn't necessarily pan out, I had to sit down and ask myself what I really want to convey with my vote.

I think I finally know what that is now.

On a tangent, I almost thought about just not voting this go round. I didn't like either candidate, and morally I couldn't bring myself to vote for, as the kids say these days, "The lesser of two evils." This thought lasted for maybe about a week. If you're reading this, and if you take anything away from this blog today, let it be this: vote. Vote. VOTE. VOTE. I don't care what personal grievances you have about vote rigging or whether or not your vote counts or that no matter the vote, your life will not be affected by it. NEWS FLASH: YES IT FUCKING WILL. Consider this: even if you're not wanting to vote for national office, there are 469 U.S. Senate seats up for reelection (including every member of the House of Representatives), not to mention the countless number of local officials, judges, ordinances, amendments, propositions, and ratification that will absolutely influence the tiny 'ol town you live in. Wanna complain about all of the things your city or state should be doing? Doesn't it seem kinda counter-intuitive to complain if you didn't vote for or against the same issue you're trying to complain about? No one wants to be that guy. Do yourself and your community a huge favor. Knowledge is power, educate yourself and VOTE.

Now that I've got that out of the way...

I feel like this entire election season, both parties have been focusing so much on the opposition that there has been little to no thought on how we will actually progress as a nation when the time comes. Politics has become so much less about the issue, and so much more so about the figurehead. Our country's tendency is to place the desires and drives we have as the people squarely on the president's shoulders. After all, they are the greatest power in the free world. But as I mentioned earlier, it's our Congress that ultimately drafts our fate. That detracts from the point, though. As far as my own political ideology goes, I am a man of reason. As I grow older, I see a more moderate political viewpoint than my more feisty teen self. I'm very conservative about some issues (i.e. having a gun for protection isn't a bad thing) and very liberal about others (i.e. my stance on abortion). The frustrating part for me in this election cycle is immediately being branded one or the other: liberal trash or conservative neo-nazism. That loops around to our lack of focus on the actual issues. Instead, your belief on one issue must mean that you side with X candidate, because they said blah blah blah...when in actuality, our viewpoint of political issues are all very unique! Not every pro-gun activist wants military grade assault rifles in the hands of all American men, women, and children. Not every pro-choice stance wants abortion to be completely legal in the third trimester up until the day of birth. It all comes back to a common middle ground: moderation.

That's what I feel is missing in American government.

Of all places to find solace or a group to look up to, one of the last places you would think of is a metal concert. Now, I know what you're thinking, "Where's this going?" Stay with me, I promise it relates. I was thinking back to something I heard at an Iron Maiden concert earlier this year, Bruce Dickinson the lead vocalist was in between songs ranting about the culture in metal. I'm paraphrasing quite a bit, but it went something along the lines of, "What I love about metal is that there are no boundaries. Man or woman, child or adult, black or white, Jewish or Muslim, you are accepted into the metal family." Coming from a group who's name is a medieval torture device, that's pretty thought provoking. Having gone to so many metal shows after that, those words have rang truer and truer to me. A common part of metal shows are the mosh pit, where senseless violence meets controlled chaos. Although bodies may slam, heads may clash, and generally nobody knows what's going on, as soon as somebody falls down and hits the ground, everybody stops, grabs a hold of their fallen mosher, and pulls them up back into the fray to continue the fight.

America needs a mosh pit.

Right now, America is a prissy pop concert, yelling and screaming at the top of their lungs for the idol that is presented on stage before them. No one cares about anyone else's experience but their own, to be acknowledged or looked at or sang to or what have you. It doesn't matter whether you're voting for a president Trump, Clinton, Johnson, Stein, or Flying Spaghetti Monster; what lies at the core of this nation's inception is helping your fellow neighbor, your fellow American. I feel like the political divide during this election has weakened that value. I intentionally kept this blog as non-preachy as far as ideology goes as possible, because that's not the point I'm trying to make. What my focus is on, as it tends to be, is how we as a country will grow stronger after this election. Politics is an imperfect system, one that cannot simply be changed at the snap of a finger by the common man. What I see to be less than imperfect is the relationship that we share as human beings. I can't remember exactly where, but I heard someone on television say that it normally takes huge, sweeping change to bring the American people together. 9/11 was the last time this country put aside their differences and banded together as one nation. Now, out of context that sounds like I'm calling for another 9/11, and that is definitely not what I mean. But in the calamity, confusion, and frustration of the political mosh pit, we've just been going too hard. We need something to knock us down a peg so we can unify as one group, pull ourselves out of the wreckage and say, "Rock on."

No election result can give us that.