Motivation

Why do we listen to anything?
Why do we listen to each other, music, or the stories of fictional characters created for no one but us?
Why do we do anything?
Why do we talk to each other, tell each other our problems, our deepest secrets?
Why do I give you my testimony, and why do you want to hear it?
Why do we write books for others to read, and songs for others to listen to and sing?
Do we do anything for ourselves?
Or do I do everything for you?
Nothing means anything, so everything means something.
The way you speak, the words you use – you justify your apathy in your own mind.
And then you tell us about it.

Don’t make me apathetic.
You’re pathetic.


In this piece of writing, I tried to explore the motivation, the “why,” behind why people do the things that they do. I believe if we understand the motivations behind people’s actions, whether it be in day-to-day life or in a music video, we can more fully understand the intent.

I also tried to explore our seemingly pervasive and widespread desensitization of language – why people now think that it’s acceptable to use words like “retarded” and “fag” in order to insult someone. However, I feel that this may have the opposite effect. We would not be able to have a class discussion about it if it did not, as people would simply not recognize the issue if there where not one. In the line where I said, “Nothing means everything, so everything means something,” I meant that humans for one reason or another search for deeper meaning and purpose in most aspects of their lives. Accordingly, when nothing carries meaning, when no word has the significance that it used to bear, humans then will analyze that, and the words that we use as insults will be scrutinized, and analyzed for this “new” meaning – this meaning which allows it to become an insult. When people say things such as, “but I’m not saying that they’re gay, it just is a word that I use as an insult,” they are justifying their manipulation of the language into something that it is not, and, in turn, desensitizing those around them. This in turn brings everyone’s language down to their level, and makes that which we say even less important. Even non-offensive words or expressions have lost their meaning. I love you is now a phrase that two girls can share with each other after knowing each other for ten minutes. That is just a blatant lie. Yes, this may seem trivial, but the manipulation of language seems to have had a deeply profound affect on our culture. Language is our primary mode of expression, and when we become desensitized to language, it seems that we also become desensitized to various actions. We tolerate it because “everyone does it”, or because it will make money. Isn’t there more to life than that? At the end of the day, when you are alone in your bed, are you actually happy? Did you say what you meant? If no one else were around, would you act the same way? In my opinion, most people will do what makes them feel good. In the past, this may have served to help people make decisions that benefit themselves; however, in our present society, there are so many factors that make people feel good, such as attention and money. Both of these things directly involve other people. Therefore, peoples’ actions become altered to satisfy the wants of others, because that in turn satisfies their primary desire.