#2k36

Ghost- Antony and the Johnsons

Anoche- Arca

Belly of the Beat- Grimes

rilkean Heart- Cocteau Twins

IRM- Charlotte Gainsbourg

Eat the Music- Kate Bush

“What we need you to do is simple. You do it everyday. Reblog, retweet, pin, share, spread this on every social media platform you have access to. Encourage your followers and friends to share it it as well. Get the word out. Even if you can’t help us financially, or you can’t volunteer with us, the best thing you can do is get people talking about this. We live in the Information Age. You know better than anyone how to make something go viral. People need to see this, and you’re the only person who can reach them. Your voice doesn’t matter until you say something.”

In this age of apathy, the single greatest possession you can have is an opinion. For so long, our voices have been silenced. Not by force, not by coercion, but by our own apathy. The two-party system has repeatedly given us the worst candidates, the ones who are statistically hated by a super-majority of the people. There is a way to vote for your candidate, for your opinions and beliefs, rather than against someone else’s. This country has become a battleground of ideologies that we think are diametrically opposed. But it couldn’t be further from the truth. We have so much more in common than we have different. But as every tyrant knows, it’s far easier to oppress an apathetic, divided people rather than a passionate nation. We are all Americans. We all want to have our voices heard. There is a way to do that without shouting over each other. There is a way to agree, and a way to disagree in a way that leads to helpful compromise, instead of arrogant filibusters. The way to get legislation moving is not by screaming about what we’re against, but rather working with each other to achieve what we’re for. We all agree that poverty is an issue. We may disagree on how to fix this issue, but if we stop accusing one another and start working with one another, we can find a solution that can better the lives of everyone. You don’t have to agree with everything I say. I’m just asking you to speak with respect to everyone. An endless feedback loop of hatred and only hearing your own ideas spoken of in a positive light is going to push us farther and farther away from real solutions. Red and blue are useless terms that used to define politics. Bi-partisan has become an ugly word in DC. Washington never wanted this kind of division. He was the first president, the only one ever to be voted into office unanimously. He never sought power for his own end, but rather as a tool to do good, to better the lives of his fellow countrymen. Isn’t that what we all want? What good is a mansion with only you inside, and your neighbors living in squalor? What good is the world if you sell your soul to gain it? All of those things are pointless. The issues that divide us today are difficult to overcome in the eyes of many, but if we stop looking at each other in terms of “them” and start thinking in terms of “us”, as Americans, imagine the good we could do. Ladies and gentlemen, I beg of you, do not let the divisions of this day prevent us from working toward solutions for our tomorrows. This problem will not be solved overnight, but if enough of us grow up, and learn to take responsibility for our own lives, and work with the power and influence we have been given over our circumstances, over our family and friends and followers on Twitter, imagine the change that can be made. If we all agreed not to say a rude word to anyone, even your worst enemy, for even a day, can you imagine the impact that would have upon the nation’s morale? Modest goals to some, impossible goals to others, but these differing opinions don’t have to ruin and divide. They can strengthen us. America is a work of art. You can have a different opinion on a piece of art than the person standing next to you, but that doesn’t mean you’re wrong. It means that both of you should try looking at it from the other’s perspective, and then you can begin to comprehend the full image.

Now is not the time for hatred and distrust. Now is the time to trust and love one another. When a child disagrees, they whine and hiss and break things. We are not children. It’s time we proved that. We are stronger than even we believe that we are. If we trust one another to lift us up, if we support one another, if we cheer with each other in victories and mourn with each other in losses, we will become so much more than we were before. It’s time to abandon apathy, and embrace love. The opposite of love is not hate, as many claim. To hate still means that you feel something. We are not a hateful people. We are an apathetic, complacent people, and we need to move beyond that. Hate can only destroy. Love can only build up. And it start with each of you. Your voice doesn’t matter until you say something.