Power to the People.

Right on.

I've been listeing to a good deal of John Lennon lately; I honestly like his solo career more than The Beatles. My new streak was inspired by my recent purchase of Instant Karma: The Amnesty International Campaign to Save Darfur. It's a compilation of some of Lennon's greatest work, covered by very talented, popular artists. The profits from album sales go to Darfurian aid, my favorite cause to support (more on that later). I strongly suggest, that if you either care for Lennon's music, or would like to get into it, or if you would just like to make the small donation of the CD's cost to people who need it much much more than you, please buy the album.

I like Lennon because he was a rebel. Not your bullshit leatherjacket manmakeup rebel, someone who legitimately disagreed with society and acted accordingly. He simply refused to participate in the system. His music speaks to me in a way I am not accustomed to. I've always hated the method by which our society operates, the economy, the career system, and especially school. I hate school. I hate compartmentalization, the absolute sterility of the modern school system. I'm sure a real college is much better and different, but Harper is orgainzed very much like high school. There's not any learning, just standardized memorization, recitation, and diplomization. "Here's a piece of paper proving you're smart."

Bullshit.

I love learning, and I'm moderately sure that I am in fact much too intelligent for my own good, but I can't believe that we can jam children in boxes and actually expect them to come out with better mental skills. I go to school to learn, not to improve some institutional enigma's test scores, measuring what They think I should know. I'm not here so some frustrated writer can tell me about the beauty of the English language while they convince themselves that one day, they won't have to work this shit job, one day they'll be a big, popular novelist. For the record, I'm not talking about Mr. Asmussen.

It's a waste of my time. It's all a method of molding youth into the monotonous proletariat. All so those with power can keep thier places near the top of the pyramid of suffering, each one of us selling our pain for the benefit of another. Well, fuck the system; I refuse to participate.

I'm no man's slave.