This is the first edition of a new blog series: 'Music for Liberty Lovers'. Good to have you here! I want to share my passion for liberty with you. To me, liberty means the freedom to be who you want to be as an individual, with respect for other people of course.
Just today, I found out that there is a lot of awesome music that expresses love for liberty. An idea popped up in my mind: let's write a blog about it! At first, I was thinking of just one blog, with some of my favorites in it. Then I realized: there is too much mentionable music for just one blogpost! So I decided to start a blog series.
I want to start with music made by Porter Robinson. I knew him because I love his track 'Shelter', which he made together with Madeon (for this blog series, this track is not the real deal, but you might like it as well):
In my search for great music about liberty, I found Porter Robinson's 'The State':
Because my love for liberty - I want people to be free to choose their own lifestyle - I am skeptical towards the concept of a 'State'. Let me explain what this concept of a 'State' entails, by citing Global Policy Forum:
"A state is more than a government; that is clear. Governments change, but states endure. A state is the means of rule over a defined or "sovereign" territory. It is comprised of an executive, a bureaucracy, courts and other institutions. But, above all, a state levies taxes and operates a military and police force. States distribute and re-distribute resources and wealth, so lobbyists, politicians and revolutionaries seek in their own way to influence or even to get hold of the levers of state power."
Source: https://www.globalpolicy.org/nations-a-states/what-is-a-state.html
So the State has control over the military and police force, which might feel reassuring: in most Western countries, people don't have to be afraid of military or police men. Oh wait, until you choose a lifestyle that does not fit with the law, like drug use. In too many Western countries, the War On Drugs is in full swing. Moreover, don't you think States can declare war against other countries way too easily?
The State is not only able to throw you in jail if you are not compliant with its laws - even if you do no harm to anybody - it also legally takes away a certain amount of your income. One might say: "but that money is well spent." Do you really think that lobbyists are concerned with your money being well spent? Don't you think they are asking the State to benefit their very own interests?
I think Western citizens should be more skeptical towards their States, even though the Western States are far away from totalitarian regimes. But don't people fear what Trump might do as President of the United States of America? History has shown that our freedoms can be taken away very rapidly. I am not saying Trump will do so, but the fear is out there. I think we should be more aware of the dangers towards liberty, regardless who is in office.
So I was very happy with the lyrics of Porter Robinson's 'The State':
The State, the government, the supreme, the eternal
The aggressor against the persons and property of the mass of the public
All states, everywhere
Whether democratic, dictatorial or monarchical
Whether red, white, blue or brown
The State
For centuries, the State has robbed people at bayonet point and called it "taxation"
For centuries, the State has enslaved people into its armed battalions and called it "conscription"
The State
The State
For centuries, the State has robbed people at bayonet point and called it "taxation"
Coercion and violence by the direct threat of confiscation or imprisonment
This is taxation
The State
For centuries, the State has robbed people at bayonet point and called it "taxation"
For centuries, the State has enslaved people into its armed battalions and called it "conscription"
The State
The State