The Way of the Big Mac

social.studies@tjc

Monday, April 9, 2007

Song: Everybody's Gone to War
Artiste: Nerina Pallot
Album: Fires

I've got a friend, he's a pure-bred killing machine,
He said he's waited his whole damn life for this,
I knew him well when he was seventeen,
Now he's a man who'll be dead by Christmas.

And, so...
Everybody's going to war,
But we don't know what we're fighting for,
Don't tell me it's a worthy cause,
No cause could be so worthy.

If love is a drug, I guess we're all sober,
If hope is a song I guess it's all over,
How to have faith, when faith is a crime?
I don't want to die...
If God's on our side, then God is a joker,
Asleep on the job, his children fall over,
Running out through the door and straight to the sky,
I don't want to die...

For every man who wants to rule the world,
There'll be a man who just wants to be free,
What do we learn but what should not be learnt?
Too late to find a cure for this disease.

so...
Everybody's going to war,
But we don't know what we're fighting for,
Don't tell me it's a worthy cause,
No cause could be so worthy.

If love is a drug, I guess we're all sober,
If hope is a song, I guess it's all over,
How to have faith, when faith is a crime?
I don't want to die...
If God's on our side, then God is a joker,
Asleep on the job, his children fall over,
Running out through the door, and straight to the sky,
I don't want to die...
I-I-I-I
I-I-I-I
don't want to die,
I-I don't want to die...

so...
Everybody's going to war,
But we don't know what we're fighting for,
Don't tell me it's a worthy cause,
No cause could be so worthy.

If love is a drug, I guess we're all sober,
If hope is a song, I guess it's all over,
How to have faith, when faith is a crime?
I don't want to die...
If God's on our side, then God is a joker,
Asleep on the job, his children fall over,
Running out through the door, and straight to the sky,
I don't want to die...
I-I-I-I
I-I-I-I
don't want to die,
I-I don't want to die...

I've got a friend, he's a pure-bred killing machine,
I think he might be dead by Christmas...

go here to watch the music video and hear the song on youtube!
http://youtube.com/watch?v=CaS3RWaNEj4
___________________________________________________________________
My thoughts:

This song is one of my most favourite songs, because the lyrics are so meaningful. It is highly relevant to the world we live in today, a world that is in a constant state of chaos and warfare. I tend to relate it to one particular issue-that of Muslims around the world being called upon by radical Muslim extremist leaders to commit violence against other religions or races in the name of Islam.

Why do I say so? Let’s examine a few significant lines of the song:

I've got a friend, he's a pure-bred killing machine,
He said he's waited his whole damn life for this,
I knew him well when he was seventeen,
Now he's a man who'll be dead by Christmas.

Many impressionable, young Islamic militants in countries were once men with families, with jobs, with normal lives-“I knew him well when he was seventeen”. However, brainwashing by radical Islamic leaders forces them to believe that it is their God given duty to wage war on those who are of a different religion or possess different beliefs from them-“he’s a pure bred killing machine, he said he’s waited his whole damn life for this”. As a result, regular violence is now the norm in many societies, especially suicide bombings. We see Muslims blowing themselves up, cutting their life short, all in the name of God-“now he’s a man who’ll be dead by Christmas”.

And, so...
Everybody's going to war,
But we don't know what we're fighting for,
Don't tell me it's a worthy cause,
No cause could be so worthy.

Many young Muslim men, women and even children wage a holy war on the world, or so they think. They believe the words of powerful, influential Islamic clerics, Islamic extremists who brainwash them into thinking that it is glorious to die for God, as long as they take down as many non-Muslims as they can. However, the fact of the matter is that most of these Islamic leaders are simply power-hungry, tyrannical individuals bent on the creation of a fully Islamic state or Islamic world, twisting the words of God to suit their own means-“Everybody’s going to war, But we don’t know what we’re fighting for” Many gullible Muslims believe that such a cause is the highest, most worthy cause to die for-“Don’t tell me it’s a worthy cause, No cause could be so worthy”.

What do we learn but what should not be learnt?
Too late to find a cure for this disease.

Many Muslims around the world are being wrongly taught that war, violence and hatred are the answers to fulfilling God’s noble cause, and that killing themselves along with other Non-Muslims is a worthy sacrifice in the name of God-“What do we learn but what should not be learnt?” This trend is occurring with worrying frequency in many countries, even ones that do not have a predominantly Muslim population. This mindset is spreading like a plague, like a disease-“Too late to find a cure for this disease”.

I feel that this issue is closely related to globalization. Again, why do I make such a sweeping statement? Well, most of the Muslims that have been brainwashed into committing such acts of violence, as I mentioned above, do not even hail from the Middle East regions of Iraq, Iran or associated countries that are said to have links to Muslim extremist groups. One good example to illustrate this point would be the July 2005 London Bombings. The four suicide bombers were all natives of London and did not leave the country to visit any Middle Eastern regions prior to the attack. Instead, they had been in contact with al-Qaeda units through gadgets such as laptops and hand phones. Does this not illustrate the huge role that globalisation plays in many terrorist acts today? Globalisation has brought about the advent of technological advancements. The whole world is connected with just a click of a mouse, the dialling of a cell phone. This facilitates terror networks, many of which post messages on websites or record videos rallying Muslims around the world to unite under a common cause, to wage a Holy War on non-Muslims and the like. Many Muslims around the world who access websites and watch videos such as these become influenced to support such a cause. Technology, such as laptops and hand phones (as mentioned above) greatly add terrorist operations.

Such terrorist operations and escalating violence “erode the ability of nation-states to exercise the effective control over their political agenda”-to quote Mr. Ng’s power point. Different countries often have to compromise and accede to the requests of Islamic militants or terrorists to prevent further attacks from occurring. Major influences and decisions in the government are often influenced by such terrorist attacks and religious violence. For example, many governments are forced to take measures to combat such acts of terrorism and improve surveillance and safety facilities. This shows how globalization can, indirectly, compromise the power and decisions of the state.

Radically against Radical Extremism,
Xiu Qing!

ended entry at
2:48 PM