No wonder
Its no wonder a lot of kids I talk to feel hopeless. Its no wonder so many kids feel disconnected. So many feel angry or disenfranchised from society. When we live in a nation that is constantly telling them that money is all that is important and supreme power is all that matters what do you expect. When every newscast spends all their time talking about celebrity marriages and missing suburban white girls on Spring Break perhaps we can see why the average kid looks at the reality he sees in his life everyday…and then the reality that the media, their bosses, and our leaders push on us…And they know its a lie. We are being lied to daily about alcohol and its devestating effects on our families. We are being lied to about drugs and addiction as the people in power just shove platitudes like “just say no” and scare tactics to “scare us straight.” Fear is their motivator. Fear. Fear. Fear. Granted some things are scary. Like the fact that 30% of all the kids that die from inhalants…Are doing it for the FIRST TIME. Thats scary! If I had a 6th grader you bet I would scare the living crap out of him….WITH THAT TRUTH! But the fact is we are getting these mixed messages. How can we say “No” to something if we have nothing else to say “Yes” to in our lives. If we are constantly being told that our lives mean nothing. This earth means nothing. My deeds mean nothing. Than we are bound to feel like Nothing. Like dirt!
The fact is we are all being told that our lives mean nothing by this government.
If they can send 160,000 kids to die overseas for some political power than to them we mean nothing.
If they can cut funding for schools than I guess our education and our brains mean nothing.
If they can reduce funding for medicare and medicaid than I guess all of us over 65 or who are disabled mean nothing to them.
If they can reduce funding for drug rehabilitation than all of us who have made mistakes mean nothing.
If they can allow more heroin to come out of Afghanistan and Mexico than EVER than we mean nothing.
And then today I read that the president is easing environmental laws on oil refineries and gas companies so that we can have cheap gas. In other words the businessmen who have recorded RECORD PROFITS over the past 6 years are saying that the only way to lower the price is to not make them pay to clean up their product. What a bunch of horsecrap! The fact is the oil companies will not pay but WE will! Why do we have those environmental restrictions in the first place? Because we need them. One fact to scare the hell out of you! The Glacier National Park in Montana 100 years ago had 150 glaciers…THERE ARE NOW 37! Every scientist worth his salt says this is mainly because of global warming. They say that if current trends are not halted or reversed by 2030 there will 0. Zero. Zippo. Gone. Nada. Suddenly this is not just some crazy conspiracy theory or some angry Kerry Voter or Massacusetts Liberal. Suddenly I have become in your eyes what I always was to begin with…A fellow resident of planet earth. And the thing is I want to enjoy my short time here and leave it a little better for all the school kids I meet and perform for every day. So I beg you and implore you young people to get involved with this. This is real. Dedicate some of your time and amazing talents to draw attention to this and when you become 18 vote your conscience. Vote your hopes. Vote your future. Not just in the big one every four years but the congressional and state stuff every two years. Its not just politics…its our lives. I’m telling you there is so much good stuff you can do to make this world a better place. There are so many things you can do for your friends to make their lives a little happier. There is so much you can do for yourself to make your life a little happier…And I can promise you that weed, alcohol, coke, meth…whatever will not take you on a path where you want to go. I will not use scare tactics with drug information…I will just simply tell you that if you have a vision of where you want to go with your life or even a vague notion of the type of person that you want to someday become, you will not get there any faster or easier…or maybe at all with drugs. I spoke with someone the other day whose words echoed in the caverns of head during my drive home from a gig. A soundman who had worked with countless artists like Bob Dylan, The Band, you name it this guy had seen it and lived it. The real deal. Rock n roll dude…awesome guy. Anyway, He was telling me his teenage daughter asked him about weed and his own history and he told me what he said to her:
“I just told her the truth man…I told her that I had smoked it in the past but I found that weed and all the other drugs that were floating around were just not taking me where I wanted to go”
Well said. So let us all think of where we wanna go and who are we allowing to drive this cab or bus we find ourselves riding. Grab the wheel. Follow your heart. And I hope to spend some time with you on this cosmic road trip that is so amazingly beautiful but all too brief.
Anonymous says:
You performed at my school today and completely blew myself and others away. You’re presentation was honest, and wasn’t the load we get from other people who come into our school and do presentations. It was funny, honest, and made people understand that everyone is affected. I was really glad you came today, and i hope i’ll get a chance to see you again soon. :] And once again, you are amazing.
April 26th, 2006 at 5:33 pm