Secret Country Music Fan

It surprises many people at first when I tell them this, but I was born and raised in the south. Not the deep south, but deep enough that growing up, I listened to country music. Not everyone did, but enough so that it wasn't uncommon. Like everyone else in the US at the time, most of the people I talked to listened to Backstreet Boys or N'Sync, but most people had at least some understanding of country as well. And it is fair to say that the music someone listens to tells a lot about who they are. So, to start this blog off, I want to see how much you, the reader, knows about the country genre. 


Which one of these sets of lyrics is from a country song?


A. Looking back on the memory of
The dance we shared beneath the stars above
For a moment all the world was right
How could I have known you'd ever say goodbye
And now I'm glad I didn't know
The way it all would end the way it all would go
Our lives are better left to chance
I could have missed the pain
But I'd of had to miss the dance.


B. Grandpappy told my pappy, back in my day, son
A man had to answer for the wicked that he done
Take all the rope in Texas
Find a tall oak tree, round up all of them bad boys
Hang them high in the street
for all the people to see that
Justice is the one thing you should always find
You got to saddle up your boys
You got to draw a hard line
When the gun smoke settles we'll sing a victory tune
We'll all meet back at the local saloon
We'll raise up our glasses against evil forces
Singing whiskey for my men, beer for my horses!


Well, stereotypically, one would say B. Which is a fair assumption, because it is. However, so is A. A is a song called "The Dance" by Garth Brooks, and B is "Beer for my Horses" by Toby Keith, both very VERY well known names in country music. However, they are written completely differently, and have almost conflicting musical style.


The Dance, Garth Brooks


Beer for my Horses, Toby Keith


Growing up, I would listen to both these songs, so much that I can still sing every word to both of them. People stereotype people from the south, and their music, as all rednecks who like guns, beer, slavery, and fried chicken. (I do realize this is a bit exaggerated, but you know what I mean.) When people picture the south, they picture "REDNECK". And because of this assumption that people from the south are all rednecks, they assume people with southern accents are uneducated or unintelligent, because they never learned to speak "Proper English".And this assumption is true of many groups of people with specific accents. People stereotype and are prejudiced against accents. However, " a dream is like a river Ever changin' as it flows And a dreamer's just a vessel That must follow where it goes Trying to learn from what's behind you And never knowing what's in store Makes each day a constant battle Just to stay between the shores" (The river, Garth Brooks) Does not sound particularly inarticulate to me. 
Now look at the line "Seems like you lost sight of what's important with depositin' them checks into the bank account and you up out of poverty your values is in disarray, prioritizing horribly, unhappy with the riches cause your piss poor morally." Technically, this is not "Proper English". However, not only is the message relatively insightful and intelligent, but the form of english used here *IS* proper english for the demographic TI is appealing to, with it's own sets of grammatical rules. 


Basically, what I'm saying, is that groups of people are stereotyped based off of the way they speak. However, the way they speak is not indicative of anything in particular besides the way they were raised. A person with a southern accent is not necessarily unintelligent, and a person using habitual Be's are still using a form of english, just not an english we are used to. Speech is not telling of a persons intelligence. Not saying that everyone from the south or uses a Habitual Be is a genius, but they are no less of an intelligent person because of it.


And to prove it, here are some very UN intelligent people that talk all different sorts of ways.


Americans are NOT stupid!!

Debating Bottled Water

Debates have become a regular part of our society. We debate among friends over what we should do about a cute guy,we debate with our parents about curfew, and, well, we debate with anyone over politics. However, often times, we are so involved with our own perspective that we loose sight of the perspective of the other person.

We become so intent on convincing the other person that we are right, that we don't realize that we might not be, and that PERHAPS the other side does have a valid point.This leads to ego (and ethno) centrism.
However, without this debating process, the ones that keep an open mind learn a lot about other people within their own culture and people that come from different cultures and upbringings. We can learn a lot from someone who was simply brought up differently, and who has different values and morals. Not only can respectful debating help us learn more about each other and learn to respect our differences, but it could potentially change the way you see things. And this is that counteracts ego and etho centrism. Once we learn to understand and appreciate the different ways of looking at things, we can gain a better respect for different people and cultures. It can also make you think about things you believe that you may have never thought about before. A healthy debate can challenge your beliefs by making you explain them.


My best friend is extremely political.She reads the New York Times like crazy, and goes to rallies and is very strongly opinionated on everything political.So am I. And we do not always have the same opinions on things. And so naturally, we debate on a lot of things. For instance, she believes that bottled water is a crime against humanity, that we should not privatize an essential aspect to life, should be completely irradiated, and have us use tap water. I believe that bottled water is a great way to provide clean water to countries that do not have access, and are a great way for those that do to have an easy portable way to stay hydrated.But because we have debated over this, we both have a better understanding of why bottled water is both good and bad. She admitted that it is good sometimes, and I admitted that I, who do have access to clean water, should not drink it as much as I do. Debating can be very useful in understanding differences, and learning to accept different ways of thinking- if you keep an open mind.