memoirs of a pianist.

"I predict future happiness for Americans, if they can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people under the pretense of taking care of them." — Thomas Jefferson





The more people I meet, the more I begin to notice a pattern between our miseducation and lack of interest with the real world; the failure to recognize the actual world we live in. In our society, it is common to consider "real world" as being the events that take place in the lives of the Kardashians. Who is to blame for our distractions? The individuals that provide them, or the individuals that partake in them? With praise to the technological advances over the last decade: iPads, smartphones, notebooks, and 3D movies and television sets, these "distractions" have increased tremendously. Everything has been handed to us on 3D platters and as a result, we have become dependent on most of these advances to survive. With this dependency for our "entertainment," information, and knowledge on electronics, is it far-fetched to identify that there is a direct correlation between a misinformed public and a distracted public?

It's difficult to categorize USA into two groups, but here it goes: those who attempt to make a difference at least once a day and those who refuse to seek knowledge because for some reason they believe that it won't affect them. Yes there are numerous sub-categories but let's break these two down.

Those who make a difference:
Who are aware that we are in dier need of social and political reform and do their part by researching from time to time, staying updated with current events, and passing this information onto people who don't have the same "resources." That resource being interest.

Those who refuse to seek knowledge.
This caters to the older folks on welfare that can only afford certain outlets of information, the basic the drug dealer spending all of his money on name brands, the kids that have it all and the kids that don't have anything, the typical miseducated college student pursuing a good time, the superficial daddy's girl that believes everything revolves around her, the "rebels" that think government is unnecessary but can't tell you a thing about how it works, and the hipsters that don't care about anything but the social scene.

Most importantly, the people who constantly accuse the government of being "wrong", but aren't sure exactly who they are accusing. So? they blame the president and everyone that's "behind" him.

News flash: You have the ability to vote for all of the officials running for office. If you think voting for a president is all you have to do to make a difference, you are highly mistaken. If you're not 100% sure about something, you don't co-sign it. Don't take anyone else's opinion, and simply research it yourself. Resources are availible to everyone, but all people do is complain.

I would be willing to bet my life that most people reading this post couldn't tell me off the top of their head the specific differences between a councilman and a congressman. They probably can't even tell me who the congressman of their district is, and what he/she can do for them. Were you even aware that they existed?

The Cycle:

Government will always be referred to as corrupt by the informed and the ignorant. Nothing can be perfect, but it can be better. I have to quote Aaron Sorkin's script when I say that "The first step in solving a problem is acknowledging that there is one."

The only thing one can do is educate self, and others around you. Blaming people for "being ignorant," which every single person is guilty of "being," and pointing fingers will not solve the issues that we have at hand. That is merely another distraction and that my friends, is the cycle. The misinformed continue to be misled while most of the "enlightened" continue to share their knowledge with those that have already achieved knowledge of their own. You'd never see a Jew from Riverdale suddenly decide to preach wisdom to the Spanish Harlem community. Do I blame him? Of course not, but there are so many effortless ways in which we can share the knowledge we have. I'm doing it right now.

Misinformation to blame?

Yes. You have Fox News, and many other news outlets like The New York Post to blame for that. Don't get me wrong, I am not trying to attack Fox. However, I speak from experience. My 85 year old father spends most of his time watching Fox News. He has been doing this for years and he knows absolutely nothing about what is going on in terms of politics, new laws being enforced, oh and "terrorism." He thinks we're doing a swell job. Along with these topics he's also been misinformed with topics such as global warming, the Ground Zero mosque, the Iraq war, and the most recent: ObamaCare.

As read in the article "Fox News Viewers Are The Most Misinformed: Study" by Jack Mirkinson:

"The study, conducted by the University of Maryland, judged how likely consumers of various news outlets and publications were to believe misinformation about a wide range of political issues. Overall, 90% of respondents said they felt they had heard false information being given to them during the 2010 election campaign. However, while consumers of just about every news outlet believed some information that was false, the study found that Fox News viewers, regardless of political information, were "significantly more likely" to believe that:

-Most economists estimate the stimulus caused job losses (12 points more likely)
-Most economists have estimated the health care law will worsen the deficit (31 points)
-The economy is getting worse (26 points)
-Most scientists do not agree that climate change is occurring (30 points)
-The stimulus legislation did not include any tax cuts (14 points)
-Their own income taxes have gone up (14 points)
-The auto bailout only occurred under Obama (13 points)
-When TARP came up for a vote most Republicans opposed it (12 points)
-And that it is not clear that Obama was born in the United States (31 points)"

What is at hand:

Misinformation without a doubt, is present and here to stay. Regardless of the fact, wouldn't our society be more aware of it's miseducation if we weren't so distracted? Everywhere I look, advertisements for alcohol are posted up in bright lights. Mainstream records scream weed, Molly, and coke throughout every single song you can think of. The image of Woman has been, yet again, reduced to whore, and people still can't tell me what the difference between a city councilman and a congressman is. Something's got to give. Let's face it, we allow ourselves to be misinformed due to all of these distractions. Get rid of the distractions and allow the opportunity for people to educate themselves: now that's something the government should fear.


Q&A

What do you have to say towards the miseducation of our youth?

Social Society:"I have to say that the miseducation of our generation is due to planned ignorance and the fact that intelligence is belittled in this day and age. People are focusing on the wrong things; meaning that everything else is out of focus. Our schools focus more on discipline than the material being taught. Teachers teach from a book, not from their own knowledge and experience. Students don't bother to learn anything else and the reliance on technology has made thinking for oneself and doing for yourself an afterthought."

Can you elaborate on the term "planned ignorance?"

Social Society: What I mean by planned ignorance is the fact that all of tv is drama and reality TV. Music perpetuates the same image over and over. The news doesn't really inform. In school you're told be quiet, shutup, go to college, don't follow your passion, get a career, go into debt and die. Go against any of it and your a bad kid. No one ever asks why someone behaves they do. It's either agree or be casted out like a leper.

You mentioned that schools focus on discipline the most. Could you compare this to "preparation" for later on in life once they live in a complete police state?"

Social Society: The preperation for a police state. You see it now with the talks of taking away our guns; the terrorist witch hunts; massive police forces, and constant surveillance. The govt wants people to shutup and take it just like in school you shutup or you're suspended. In a police state the consequences would be way worse but you see the point. A certain behavior trend mut be instilled and the best way to do it would be through education.

"Do you think the government has already succeded in their goal of misinforming the public?"

Mega -@Far2LIVEMega: I think the term "government" is a big buzz word when we actually mean "media". I feel like we encapuslate media when we say "government" but we really don't mean them. The government succeeds in oppressing the public, the media misinforms us. They've succeeded far beyond just the current times; propaganda and political agenda have always ruled what we see from outside sources. We are more keen to it because we are the technology generation, meaning everything from around the development of computers to the current day can be monitored and archived without the use of paper. This is why we, as inherent researchers, have found many discrepancies, purposeful inaccuracies and stereotypical protrayals in media. The media has definitely succeeded, but this is hardly anything new.



What are your opinions on corporate, mainstream "Hip-Hop," if it can even be referred to as such. What are underground artists such as yourself doing to make a more positive influence on today's generation?

Stevie Crooks -@StevieCrooks: I think mainstream Hip-Hop is a reflection of how money can change something if you let it. Mainstream Hip-Hop is so far away from its real Definition / Goal / Purpose. It's to a point where I personally can't identify with it anymore. They see Hip-Hop as a joke; a perfect example is the image: an old white grandma with a baggie jumpsuit with chains saying "Yo homie G," or the Hip-Hop hamsters in the car break dancing. Society's respect for Hip-Hop culture has become a joke; it has been exploited.
The soul the passion isn't gone it just isn't portrayed in the media. The more fools we make of ourselves the more money people will pay, which almost goes to the slave days. Black face performers. We need more leaders.

Artist like myself are staying true to the culture and I have vowed to never fall into that trap of looking like a fool. They are afraid of leaders such as myself with something to say and plans on making a change; thats less dollars for them. Lupe is a perfect example of how far the industry will go to destroy you. He isn't happy about how the game treated him. "They" only went out of their way to make him feel the pain because he had a voice. He was a young, intelligent, and opinionated black male: AMERICA's worst nightmare. No one wants to stay underground but since when did it get to a point where we got separated from that one word that describes what we do?
Why are mainstream Hip-Hop and underground so separated? It's supposed to be the same genre! WHO made this segregation? I ask myself everyday. The evolution has been a beautiful struggle with the internet for all artists. Showing the power is not only in the labels hands, it's with the artist and the fans now.
Those who desire change must demand it.


Could the reason students act with indifference towards outside information be related to the stress they undergo while trying to maintain the "perfect" 4.0 average? Or could it simply be that they only deem information taught in school along with the information they receive from the media credible?

Dylan -@theprophetictru: I believe that there are students that strive the coveted 4.0 GPA, because they really want to be successful in life. When you have blinders on, it's so easy to block things out. The classic "keep your eyes on the prize" mentality. But that's the problem with our culture. We breed this competitive nature in our students, a nature that forces them to consider only grades and the rewards thereafter, and they then become distracted. Dont get me wrong, they are to blame for their distraction, but the system is actively working towards their (our) detriment.

As for the students that don't strive for the 4.0, they're also dealt a hand that distracts them: The media. I don't mean fox and NBC necessarily, I mean MTV, I mean MySpace, twitter, and Facebook. Systems that take you away from the everyday reality of the real world and provide an alternate mode of living, these distractions, are what deter these students. Books are less important. Educating yourself is less important. Following the lives of celebrities is more important. The latest sneakers are more important. Who's fucking who is more important. These distractions form a type of systematic control over students, controlling what information reaches them and how it reaches them.


Who is to blame for misinformed youth? The parents, teachers, govt, media, etc. Why do you think no one decides to make a change?

Jared H. Smith -@Detroit_RARE : The government is corrupted and no matter what anyone says, they have control over everything. If the media wanted to inform people, how long would that last? They would be taken off of the air so fast because they are able to reach out to millions at a time. Therefore, the media would be a threat. Media plays these mindless ass programs because that is what they are told to do and/or people are "money hungry" so they don't care as long as they're making money. You have to want to learn...this stuff can't be forced upon oneself. You have to be one of those people that want to at least try to make a difference so you can help yourself and your family survive. The media is controlled by the corrupted elite to basically brainwash people with these shows so that they won't even care to research shit on their own.

The youth doesn't even turn to the news...(not saying that the news is telling the truth because they are far from doing so) but they're not even utilizing the resources that are so readily available to them. The youth doesn't want to learn about the world; Ab-Soul said it best: "I couldn't tell you how the world functions, but I'm headed to the function."