Thesis Proposal?

I guess it's only fitting this be written after a night of drunken debauchery.

Pirates and Punx

They've been calling me pirate. And maybe they're right. That's what I am. Not in the sense that I wear an eye patch or say arrrr but I am a modern day pirate. Its true. I may not go to sea or take over ships but that isn't really what being a pirate is all about. I'm an iconoclast, always have been. Always will be. It isn't in my nature to just accept. And that is what being a pirate is all about. They weren't ready to just accept the conditions of the sea that was evolving at that time, so they revolted. Being a pirate is not about the way you dress or the way that you talk its a mentality, a mentality that Ive always embraced. And so is punk rock music.

Ive never been normal but lately my eccentricities have been becoming increasingly prominent as I grow older. In a way its almost an anti-social behavior. Id like to say that I'm a very social person but lately Ive had some problems with my social behaviors. I go out so much sometimes that I start to hate being around people. I'm sick of the superficial glances and dances that a club brings. I'm sick of the small talk by the people that don't really want to be talking to me at the bars. I'm sick of the fake smiles and thanks yous that I find at the army functions. And most of all 'm sick of the feigning emotions that people around me claim to endure. The artificialness of it all gets to me. You don't give a shit about me so stop pretending you do. My pirating comes as a rebellion to these culturally accepted behaviors that I see enveloping our nation. My rebellion is not against the institutions in place that welcome these behaviors but against the people that enable them to prosper.

Back in the day when pirating was just beginning to spawn there was an extreme loyalty involved with the business. The pirates didn't begin in search of gold and booty. Pirating began as a necessity, a rebellion against the treatment of the hands on the ship. There were vast inequalities that existed between the captains of a ship and the workers that kept the ships going. The workers were treated much like slaves after the wars ended and their mercenary or buccaneer duties were no longer needed. The pirates started their mutinies to combat these inequalities. But these mutinies did not bring about a disloyalty to the countries that employed them, namely England. These mutinies were just a path to freedom. The pirates remained loyal to mother England and refused attack ships from their home country and were awarded pardons for such behaviors. At some point a leader decided that pardons would no longer be given to these outlaws and it was at this point that the pirates declared war against the world. No ships were off limits any longer. Any and every ship that contained a significant amount of wealth would be attacked. The English ships were too profitable too avoid.

Punk Rock music has taken a similar turn. Punk started as a movement based on ideals that rejected the national values of the time. It rejected the known forms of music being created. Punk was an experimentation of ideas and a rebellion against the institutions and people that enabled a corporate mentality to be the dominant force in peoples ambitions. Punk was not about making a platinum album and achieving fame and prosperity. Punk was about earning a living doing what they loved on their own terms. No more adhering to a record labels demands or a captains demands. The people were taking control of their destiny and making the rules as they went.

Our country was founded on the punk/pirate mentality. Somewhere along the line the lines became blurred. Somewhere along the line the anti-social behaviors similar to that of our forefathers became suppressed and deemed anti-government when in actuality there is no truer form of self-expression similar to the values that our country was founded upon. We've lost our way as a country and as a nation and the real punks of yesterday and today have realized and have fought or are fighting this today in the only way that they see possible.

Being a punk or a pirate is not about wearing an eye patch or donning a mohawk. Its a mentality that seethes into the daily behaviors of an individual and finds its roots in the mentality of the general public and the rebellion of those that care to engage in the fight. I don't make music and I don't sail on a ship but I engage in my own personal battle on a daily basis. My fight may be small. My contributions may be go unseen. But I will continue the battle in the only ways that I can.