Letting Go

 Lupe Fiasco's new album Lasers

       When Lupe Fiasco was asked about his recent song, Letting Go, he said:"It’s my declaration of independence from the clutches of the record industry, the blogs, the fans, the press, the lifestyle." Like many rappers, Lupe Fiasco had a hard time dealing with fame. "My self portrait shows a man that the wealth tortured", Lupe Fiasco says in his song, so now he is trying to let go of his lifestyle. There are many rap songs about mainstream rappers looking back at their previous selves and wondering whether their previous self would have thought that he had done good. In this song, in different verses, Lupe is talking to himself, as if he has two different egos in two different verses. The reason I like this song is because of the lines in his song that really makes me think.

        My favorite line in Letting Go  is "I don't get high. Life keep me at a decent height." This could be deciphered to be saying that he doesn't get high off marijuana anymore, but I interpret it as him not being able to become high off of life anymore, and he always stays at the same level. I think that is a very powerful thing to say because it makes me think about what fame can do to you. What if you get to a certain point where you cannot experience the emotion of elation anymore? I think that is a big downside to being famous, you cannot enjoy the small things in life anymore and I think that is why Lupe Fiasco felt the urge to rap about letting go of his lifestyle. I think what he's saying in Letting Go is that he wants to enjoy himself again. 

        I like to think of this song as if fame is a drug and him letting go is trying to stop using the drug. Many people in the world are suffering from trying to stop taking some kind of drugs, whether it's literally drugs, or something like it such as alcohol or cutting yourself. I think that it is an important message to spread, no matter what you're letting go from. "Let me in and let me go.  So I can roam around this wilderness. See it for what it really is." The message is to let go from what's holding you down. I think this is a very important message to spread.

Kite Running Should be Happy, Right?

After reading The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, I had a sudden urge to read picture books and never read another chapter book. That is not because it was bad but because it was overwhelmingly sad. Sure it was happy in the end, but that still means that it was sad. In the Kite Runner, it wasn't the violence or death or the things that the main character did that made the book sad, it was what the character didn't do. The book is about a rich privileged Iraqians relationship with his slave. It is also about a boy who's father has done much in his and find himself under pressure to be like his father. After reading this book I couldn't help that feeling that without regret, there would be no story in the book. I think that regret is good for people, regret tells people what they need to do. In the book, the main character finds himself overwhelmed with a feeling of regret of how he treated his slave. I couldn't help wondering if he had done anything to try and help his situation, would he be feeling the regret that he did in the book?

After reading the book I thought of the song Words I Never Said by Trey Songz, one of it's lyrics is: "As I'm Drowned in my Regrets, I can't take back the words I never said." This suggests that instead of not doing anything, which will just lead to regret, you should say something because at least you can take back words that you've said. After listening to this song I had a bit of an epiphany that lasted for about an hour. Never do anything that will give you regrets, in the Kite Runner's case, it would be better to get a few bruises than to have regrets for the rest of your life. I think that is what the main character realized when he goes back to his home country to leave his regrets. 

I think the book Kite Runner is a great example of why the lines said by Trey Songz are true. In the book the main character goes back to his country to explain his feelings to the person that he wronged, only to find that that person was murdered. When he learns that that person's son is in an orphanage, he knows that the only way to quench his regrets is to adopt the baby. he realizes that if he had just done something than he wouldn't be drowned in his regrets. Regret is a very strong emotion but there's a very simple way to vanquish regret.

Guns?

NRAs new video game, "NRA, Practice Range"

                  I have not being paying very much attention to the gun policy debate. I have listened to my parents complain about the NRA all the time, but only now do I see something that in my opinion is an outrage. The article NRA spits on the graves of Newtown massacre victims with release of mobile shoot-'em-up app for iPhone, iPad is about the new game created by the NRA that contains the player shooting with the same gun used by the killer in the Sandy Hook killings at coffin-shape targets. I think that making this game just a month after the Sandy Hook shooting should not be done. Adding to the outrage, in Apple's review of the game they suggested the game for people of ages 4+. I think that Apple should  be sponsoring games that support gun usage and the fact that it has references towards the shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary.

                In the game, in between practice rounds they give you firearm safety tips in the game for four year-olds. Why will gun safety tips be of importance to 4 year-olds? This is just another example of the NRAs attempts to oppose the anti-gun petitions going on. While many politicians are trying to tighten gun laws, the NRA opposing this and are suggesting putting armed guards at all schools. After hearing this, I couldn't help but wonder if the NRA realized how ridiculous this sounds, putting more armed guards in school would just raise the possibility of school shootings. NRA also suggested that teachers be trained in gun violence so that they can protect their students. The NRA initially blamed the Sandy Hook Killings against violent video games. Now the fact that they are making a violent video for 4 year olds, I don't know why they have influence in the world of politics. 

                
              
             The deaths at Sandy Hook Elementary were a catastrophe. The NRA is giving us both a reminder and a encouragement for this catastrophe. By making a video game, the NRA is keeping the killing alive. But I think the biggest outrage done by the NRA is the message they are sending out. They are aiming specifically for children and supporting gun use. This is a major issue in the world right now and I hope people realize the ridiculousness of NRAs video game and ideas.