EgoAssassin.com - Music. Satire. Controversy.

Mainstream media, arrogant celebrities, and “well educated” politicians are skilled at telling the public what is what is right, what is wrong, what is fashionable, and what is important in life. The many facets of pop culture supply us with a complete guide of what to think, what to wear, what to buy, where to go, how to raise our children, and how we can be accepted in society. The ever popular mainstream industries (Hollywood & MTV) teach us how to put more money into the pockets of those who don’t need it, and accept the political views of individuals that we don’t know. But the brilliant part of this scheme is that they all pretend to be so humanistic, politically aware, and concerned about the issues normal people deal with in life. They might have ten mansions, ten cars, and ten chauffeurs, but deep down they have your best interest in mind. Celebrity is now a huge part of our society and unfortunately most of us know more about popular culture than we do about our own families. Rewarding success is one thing, but rewarding stupidity is another.

But there is no need fighting the inevitable facts of life. Besides, if you speak out against popular culture or ignore the “accepted” political parties for long enough, they will just use their time and money to find you! If you’re lucky, these groups might even be interested in meeting you, especially if you have something that can be exploited for their gain. When you think about it, political and social celebrity is dependent on the fact that there will always be the “average individual”, “the consumer”, the “hard worker”, and a “cause” (poster children & innocent victims). All groups pay in one way or another, the only difference is that the powerful groups profit in one way or another.

There are, however, several positive features of popular culture spewing garbage into our minds all day. For one, our lives are busy, chaotic, full of choices, conflict and controversy, so it’s to our benefit that we’re given an opportunity to think less about things. Heaven forbid that we do any actual research on the ideas we buy into. Secondly, we pride ourselves on being free individuals who practice our freedoms so uniquely and diversely. Therefore, accepting any of the various “cool trends” allow us to create the illusion that we’re using our brains, when in reality we’re simply following along with the crowd. We are faced with many questions in life, and if we don’t answer those questions fast enough, others will gladly answer them for us. No more feeling left out, no need to read books, no need to separate falsehood from reality, and no need thinking about the future anymore. No more time wasted on questioning popular consensus either (unless it’s popular to do so within your particular group). The best style is what they wear. The hottest music is what they play. A great film is what Hollywood told you about.

And then comes government, a different type of celebrity that wears suits and holds a high school diploma (hopefully). Government function is how the government defines it. Important social and political issues are what they say they are. Our history went just like they said it did. There are only two political parties that are worth being associated with….well of course because they said so.

The reality is that we don’t value what we know to be right and we don’t take enough time to learn things for ourselves. Ask yourself, when is the last time you actually researched a topic that wasn’t related to media hysteria? Now ask yourself when was the last time you helped someone in need. Can you recall? We too often allow our thoughts and opinions to be influenced by what is popular and end up choosing extreme stupidity or emptiness over common sense. We are becoming shallow and disconnected. We get comfortable going along with what is popular and are willing to create policies around shaky beliefs. We spend more time thinking about what to wear than we do about improving the world around us. It’s a free country and hopefully a free world, but how many of us are obsessed with things that just don’t matter? Keep thinking about how to remain with the times and you will be fulfilling the pop culture agenda. Think about the positive things that you can actually control in this world, and at least you will fulfill a meaningful agenda.

What is my agenda? My agenda is to always think for myself. I hope you feel the same, but maybe you can decide without asking your television.

If you want to be taken seriously in life, you must be associated with a popular group. A “group” in this case is defined as being a well-known and established party of some sort. There are two such parties when it comes to American politics, the republican party and the democratic party, both of which have long and rich histories full of……well just a bunch of history. Arguably good and bad histories and of course traditions, but that is another story.

But what about those who don’t associate themselves with either of these groups, their leaders, or the boasted ideologies they hold? How can the media and government easily classify this strange group of individuals in order to feel comfortable and in control? Well, they can easily cast them into the”Independent” or “Moderate” party. That is one idea.

Or, maybe it is time to re-think how we so easily categorize ourselves with blanket labels and exclusive groups that are meant to be taken so seriously. Maybe it is time to start thinking more about what is right, instead of thinking about what is best for our favorite social club of the month. It would be a good time to pay less attention to your tradition, group names, and social party, and start focusing more on what is right.