Growing Up = Selling Out? and our modern culture

[Void]

Growing Up= Selling Out?

Hey guys, I recently just saw some graffiti around my area and this one just "tag" just really got me. It said "Growing Up Is Selling Out."

When I grow up, I want to be a rockstar. Yeah, a very cliche dream. I play guitar, and I'm pretty damn good I might add. I just really hope as I get older I won't lose this dream and sell out. That would really be the all ending of my life to give up my hopes and dreams to become "normal."

We all know the "normal progression" of life: Go to school, graduate college, find a job, get married, have kids, they go to college, you become elderly, you die.

People have these dreams of what they want to be and as they get older they lose them. They lose hope. They think it's "too late" to go and chase dreams. Why do older people do that? They've lost all hope and they do the same FRIKKIN' REPETITIVE THING ALL THE TIME. This graffiti artist says he hates rush hour. That it's these people going to these jobs they hate all at one time. I do agree, it's quite disgusting. Why go to a job you hate, and be married unhappily because it's right?! I don't see how these older people can go do the same repetitive thing all year.

That just really sounds sad to me. Isn't their any higher good you can do? I know their is...but what? I'm just hoping I can really have some life of greater good.

What Our Modern Culture Stands For
( I got the idea from an article I read)
What on Earth does our modern culture stand for?! In the past the 40's and 50's were about human rights, the 60's and 70's were peace. The 50's had Martin Luther King, the 60's and 70's had Jimi Hendrix, The Clash and Apocalypse Now. All very much giving a **** about our world and if the president lied to him.

People ask me why I listen to older music and I tell them "Because they stood for something!"

What do we have to stand for our modern culture?

HARRY POTTER AND 50 CENT.

(NO HIP HOP IS NOT CULTURE, IT DOES NOT STAND FOR ANYTHING.)
We're all about making money in our modern culture, and there's not many people that stand for anything.

Let's take a look, in the 60's and 70's when Vietnam happened, a war which many people didn't agree with, there were riots and protests.

When the war in Iraq happened, which many people "SUPPOSEDLY" didn't agree with, we had "disagreements." Not that I'm saying I didn't or did agree with the war, the point is no one really cared very much if they disagreed.

Why is our culture only about making money? Why don't we go pursure what we want to really in life and care?

Please I want opinions on this post...

Take care people.

 

[familyguyfan]

You make some good points.

But although Jimi Hendrix, The Clash, and Apocalypse Now (where did that come from?) were good and all, you can't really compare them to MLK. And he had as much, if not more influence in the 60s than the 50s.

I do agree though that the "culture" of this generation is not near on the level of that of the 60s and 70s. The music then had much more meaning and grace, beyond guns and hoes and whiny emo punks.

 

[Derek Flint]

"Why is our culture only about making money? Why don't we go pursure what we want to really in life and care?"

That's not the only thing our culture cares about.

But making money is important, if you want to eat, have a roof over your head etc..

Food doesn't just magically appear, as a farmer had to put in time and money for it to come to fruition, and the house you live in had to be built by someone in exchange for money, as they are unlikely to build your home for free.

Money buys you lifes necessity's, and money also allows you to pursue other things that are important to you that you care about.

BTW, "RATM" is a bunch of hypocrites - they preach the whole anti-capitalism schtick, yet they benifit greatly from it.

 

[Phoenix_of_the_ashes]

Since I was a kid Ive always wanted to be a scientist. Am I just a normal sellout to you because Im trying to get into medschool now?

 

[October]

Interesting post. You could actually ask the same question about high school, and why kids conform in high school.

I think that when you get older, you realize how much **** and how much responsibility there is to living. Bills are a *****, and having a family takes a ****load of money. Mortgage for a house is like at least $5,000 per month alone (I think). I think, when you get out of college, and you start living on your own, and you get hit with all of these bills that you can't pay, you opt for a secure job that will bring you consistent money that will help you pay off your bills. Which is kind of what DF said.

As for marriage...well, when you get older you start to want that kind of stuff. Society does pressure you into getting married for many reasons, and if you don't have a lot of options, people will tend to opt for security, again. When you get older and see everyone around you getting married, you feel like a loser for being alone. And by that time, most girls are looking for marriage, not just relationships, so it's harder to keep them without getting married. But a good marriage, and raising a good family, will make most people happy.

But society has been going through conformity for ages. Don't forget that the 1950s was also known as the "Conformist era". People were afraid of being accused as Communists, and they tried to blend in with everyone else. And in the 1800s, yeah, people were conforming. During the Industrial Revolution (mid-1800s) and the rise of the factories there were a lot of people getting jobs in the factories and getting paid for unskilled labor. That's what sparked people will Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, and the Transcendentalists to get back to Nature and write essays like "Walden" and "Self-Reliance".

I'm not sure what our culture stands for now, but I think it is known as the Information Age, with the rise of computers and technology and all of that, and all of the new discoveries in science. It's also about patriotism, with everything that's happened (I'll try to keep it as vague as possible to keep politics out of the thread).

I hope this makes sense. I'm speculating a little on the part about marriage and living on your own. What is the meaning of life, really? I haven't been able to figure it out, but I think it has something to do with peace and being happy.

 

[al77]

Originally posted by Derek Flint
"Why is our culture only about making money? Why don't we go pursure what we want to really in life and care?"

That's not the only thing our culture cares about.

But making money is important, if you want to eat, have a roof over your head etc..

Money buys you lifes necessity's, and money also allows you to pursue other things that are important to you that you care about.

Thats 100% right, but to say just that is not enough.
Current culture is not only about money to get food and roof, not about life's necessities...we passed that XX years ago.
Now it is about makeing MORE and MORE money... and even more, it is about conformity to what society wants us to say "I ama hard worker", "I have a my own house", " I have a nice car", "I went to college" blah blah...

Why the heck one needs to be a "hard worker"??? Does it make anyone happy? I thought fun is what makes people happy.
But society says it cool, so people try to conform...

What's good about having a tiny house and work for paying interest on its morgtage for like 20-30 years? What's good to have that burden of mortgage for 20 years?
Whats cool about it? Nothing? But people belive what they are told - and they

Maybe I missed lots of brainwashing, but current culture is about conformity to stupid standards and money making for its own sake.

Some people say it is about standards of living. ok.
So how many it would anyone happier if he jumps from 70k per year to 100k? to 120k? He may probably have to work more hours, have more expensice car and a hous ein a better neighbourhood. Does it make anyone happier, really?
Is this what we work for???

 

[Void]

Phoenix_of_the_ashes: No you are not, if you yourself does not think so. Does that make sense? If you truly love being a scientist, then rock on, and be a scientist buddy.

Derek Flint: What you're saying is true, but it is all about the more and more you can have like al77 said.

October: You hit it dead on with why people do conform and get married. But I'm just wondering what we could do that would be an alternate route. I guess that'd be doing what you want instead of "feeling like a loser and getting married." Which I've heard people doing a lot. At the moment, I'm thinking of what could be an alternate route for all this...

Keep on with the feedback!

 

[international82]

HARRY POTTER AND 50 CENT.

(NO HIP HOP IS NOT CULTURE, IT DOES NOT STAND FOR ANYTHING.)

Hip hop is a culture dumbass, it does stand for expression of blacks and some hispanics, the only reason that white people ie you say it isn't is the fact all the hip hop you see is the commercialized stuff ie 50 Cent, Eminem that are selling because they are fluffed out and mainstream so everyone can relate to even the white kids that buy most of the albums. I'm sure you don't know that hip hop also went thru the black liberation phase in the 70s and early 80s. Basically it was good before commercialism.
Thanks for that attack on hip-hop, I hate when people who have no idea of hip-hop just start talking about it, save that for your own garbage music.
Anyways, back to the point, the post, I think people compromise a little of their lives and goals every day then they look back one day and what their lives are is so far away from what they thought it would be. There is also a social hierarchy for having money, and none for following your dreams.

 

[Derek Flint]

Originally posted by al77
Thats 100% right, but to say just that is not enough.
Current culture is not only about money to get food and roof, not about life's necessities...we passed that XX years ago.
Now it is about makeing MORE and MORE money... and even more, it is about conformity to what society wants us to say "I ama hard worker", "I have a my own house", " I have a nice car", "I went to college" blah blah...

Why the heck one needs to be a "hard worker"??? Does it make anyone happy? I thought fun is what makes people happy.
But society says it cool, so people try to conform...

What's good about having a tiny house and work for paying interest on its morgtage for like 20-30 years? What's good to have that burden of mortgage for 20 years?
Whats cool about it? Nothing? But people belive what they are told - and they

Maybe I missed lots of brainwashing, but current culture is about conformity to stupid standards and money making for its own sake.

Some people say it is about standards of living. ok.
So how many it would anyone happier if he jumps from 70k per year to 100k? to 120k? He may probably have to work more hours, have more expensice car and a hous ein a better neighbourhood. Does it make anyone happier, really?
Is this what we work for???

So would you rather pay rent for the rest of your life, or make payments on a house that you will eventually own outright and it will increase in value over time?


Everyone has choices in life - you can work hard if you choose to, and do whatever you want with the money.

You can be a bum and live on the streets and beg other people for money as well.

 

[Visceral]

IMO ...

Survival vs. growth

Most people do only what they need to do to get by, because there isn't anything more in it for them than that. They work to pay the bills and are basically only interested in food on the table, a roof over their heads, and some amusement.

Other people could care less about getting by, because they want as much as they can get. They work their asses off so that one day they'll make millions in their sleep, they indulge in everything that their world has to offer them, and they live every day as if it were their last.

The first are only concerned about survival - about their basic needs and a few less and less satisfying wants - always because they have no choice, and usually because they just don't care to have more.

The second live for growth, to expand their personal power and reap the benefits that it brings. Their appetites are inexhaustible and so is their drive.

Popular culture focuses on the second group, because they are more pleasing to us, and as a result, conditions us to want to become members of it, even when that'll never happen.

 

[al77]

Originally posted by Derek Flint
So would you rather pay rent for the rest of your life, or make payments on a house that you will eventually own outright and it will increase in value over time?

This is a good example of what I wanted to point out.
Obviously a house is better, but...
Lets consider an average family - who has 1.6 kids, 1.7 TV etc
What they do? they immediately buy a house, immeditely have 2-3 kids, immediately buy new furniture (credit, credit! nice...seem like they can afford it cuz they don't pay right on the spot) they buy a new car (maybe not fancy but new).
So they end up with all sort of payments.
Now, when they pay off the car with interest, it is usually about time to buy a new one (for his wife.. or for his son, or just new because the old new car doesn't look "modern" enough).
So far there is no problems.

But if we look at teh finances we could see that after 20 years paying for their house they end pay paying not 100% of the house price, and not 120%. No. They pay usually 250-300% of its market value. If they are careless enough with their cars, they end up paying much more for their cars too.
To answer your question: I'd prefer to buy a house: save, save save (no fancy cars, no new furnitures etc) and buy a house without paying stupid mortgage for 20 years.

It makes a difference to pay 100k for a tiny house (just an example, sure it is more in real life) or 250k, isn't it?

 

[il_duce]

"Don't give up your dreams for someone else's."

Whoever said that must be rich as hell, or at least living a very happy life, free of regret.

Most people will say that true success is impossible, it's all about luck they say. Keep in mind the people who usually say that are the ones working dead-end jobs. Hahaha.

I totally agree with your post Void. Everyone out there wants more from life, they just don't have the balls to go for it. There is always some luck involved in life, and success is never guaranteed. But wouldn't you rather do it YOUR way, instead of staying on a plateau all your life? I would rather starve as a musician for a while, and then let it pay off later by making it in the music business. That's an unlikely outcome, yes. But I would still rather do all of that, and FAIL, than to have never tried, because at least I could say I enjoyed doing it. Now, why do something (like working in a cubicle) that you know you will hate, and it will never amount to anything? It makes no ****in sense to me.

Today's culture says it's okay to be average. In fact, it insists that you be average. That's just ****ed up. And a lot of people here are defending that too. Sad.

 

[diplomatic_lies]

• When you were a kid, your parents fed you.
• When you were a kid, your parents housed you.
• When you were a kid, your parents paid the bills.
• When you were a kid, your parents gave you food.

Now when you grow up, you have to do those things. Its not "selling out", its called "Responsibility".


As for your dreams? Yeah everyone wants to be a rock star, famous actor, or pornstar. But if 100% of society got to live their dreams, who would do the regular work like finance, farming, factory labour, science, law, etc?

Doing "regular work" doesn't have to be boring. You can still have fun during and after work. Many guys I know who work in the conservative, depressing work of finance have heaps of fun at work. They chat with their coworkers, mess around, etc.

"There is no such thing as a boring event, only boring people"

 

[Joe The Homophobe]

our culture is a piece of crap. From our media to our music to our trends, you name it. Your best course of action is to stop thinking about this,watch tv as little as possible and just enjoy life and have lots of girlfriends.

there is no need to be part of that awful culture, be your own individual.

 

[diceman]

What most the posts have said so far is true.
There's also the problem of how society is becomeing more prudent & boring.

For example, Here in the UK the amount of health & safety regulations & buricratic nonsense thats filling our lives is getting rediculous.
My mother works as a nursery nurse & she suggested to the manager that they take the kids on a day-trip out somewhere. The manager told her that the amount of paper work & regulations they have to follow is too much work for the sake of one day out! It's that bad now.

Not to mention that even a teacher putting sun-tan lotion on a child is considered sexual harrassment. If someone breaks into your house & you hit them, YOU'RE the one that gets sued. Societies priorities are all wrong.

It's turning people into zombies who never want to do anything exciting or take risks. We are being conditioned to consider risk as a terrible thing. We must follow the rules at all times. Never deviate from what you're told to do.

Thats what is going wrong.

The government is now banning smoking, tightening drinking laws, basically it's starting an all out war on FUN. If people are doing something 'bad' like getting drunk or (heaven forbid) smoking a ciggerette then the government will soon put a stop to that.
Smokers are now looked at like they're the biggest scum on the planet. The powers that be have nearly won their war on smokers. They are now turning their ttention to alchol.

Through media manipulation we are being told what is correct conduct & that anything else is a terrible thing. The general public don't want to be hated & seen as scum, so they follow the rules & live a peaceful, uneventful existance.

Thats where we're headed.

 

[Luveno]

Originally posted by diceman


Thats where we're headed.

Wrong.

We're already there.