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While the nationalist sentiment throughout the nation brandishes the fact that America is Democratic, having no sort of monarch, America has tried to expand tremendously in the modern age, with the exception of the isolationism movement after World war I. Theodore Roosevelt, touted as one of the greatest presidents, pioneered American imperialism with his big stick diplomacy. America is on a quest for empire to this day, evidenced by the abundance of military bases and role as the world’s police.
Every empire crumbles. As seen by the collapse of Rome, the Islamic caliphate, the Mongols, and scores of other examples, the expansion weakens the nation and dissolves it. American Exceptionalism insists that the U.S. won’t meet a similar fate, but what if?
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“Enhanced interrogation” is a common euphemism for torture, used to make it sound more humane.
The Obama regime has recently admitted that the U.S. tortured captives in the Middle East. While many politicians on both sides of the aisle defend enhanced interrogation as vital to national security, it clearly enhances the animosity of the U.S. Additionally, torture does not provide any effective results in doesn’t work statistically or neurologically.
Morally speaking, contracting this interrogation to or allies like Saudi Arabia does not wash the blood off our hands. This means that all it is doing is destroying humanity and making the United States the fear-inducing body.
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What is this?
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This line is somewhat ambiguous. It can’t be something dirty or excretory, they’re using the target of “you” as in the other person’s view, who’s meant to be fairly refined. Some possible four-letter words are free, flag, or vote, but the word “love” seems most fitting, as it is the basis of docile liberalism. Love is the liberal equivalent of solidarity.
While Liberals may talk big on being pro-union and for other leftist ideals, when leftist groups ask for support or (in the case of unions) a strike in solidarity, liberals often will make platitudes instead of taking action. Overall, it keeps with the theme of the anarchist seeing the need for direct actions to get results while criticizing liberals for being too wary of changing the status quo in a meaningful way.
Assuming I achieve my life expectancy
And don't fall victim to heredity Chris Orrick – That's Okay
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Life expectancy in the United States is currently around 78 years, meaning that that is the average amount of time a person lives. Assuming Red Pill makes it that far, he will reminisce about his past; however, there is no guarantee he will live that long.
This line alludes to the death of his mother, which he talked about on the song “Impaired Judgment” from the Ugly Heroes album. His mom died while Chris was still in his teens, apparently caused by alcohol. Red Pill himself frequently raps about his drinking problem, so it’s clear he’s worried about a similar fate. Alcoholism runs in the family.
Think I left you in December
But it feel like February on a nigga
(How she got soo cold) Mick Jenkins – 40 Below
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Mick recalls breaking up and feeling worse than he should’ve. December through February is typically the coldest time of the year. It’s interesting that he says it feels like February instead, as if it is more extreme, as temperatures in Chicago are fairly similar between those two seasons. February is notable for Valentine’s Day, a holiday which often makes single people feel like crap and lonely, so this is what would make that month colder.
He may have felt “cold” as in sad and possibly depressed, but the girl was definitely being “cold” or heartless.
This repetition aims to drive the point home and illustrate the desperation, the weariness of the Black Sheep. He’s hanging on for dear life, pushing himself to continue to struggle for what he believes is right.
The shark is really experiencing some bildungsroman – coming of age. He is slowly realizing that he remains nearly helpless in his struggle to have complete control over his life, so he decides to put everything he has into creating a world where he could.
The shark sacrificing his cradle is sacrificing his youth and his sanctity. Going to the mantle refers to the geological layer of the Earth, a dramatization of going off-the-grid/underground or being buried. This plays off the expression “cradle to the grave.”
Zion is often used as a term in reference to the city of Jerusalem, but here the term embodies the spirit of a place that epitomizes institutional control, a sort of mixture between fascism, capitalism, and theocracy. The shark will do whatever it takes to destroy this construct.
The boy in the corner, an image of social detachment in a place such as an elementary school classroom, is having his own box shrunk. This box is not the same as that of the entire room, but the box is the world that he actually dwells in, where he is confined. Others are limiting him. The more he suffers from this, the harder it is to ignore it.
This plays on the expression “think outside the box,” meaning to think creatively, in a fashion that is not typical. A boy in the corner would be described as not normal by others, so it is ironic that he would not be thinking outside the box.
This always makes me think of the Kierkegaard quote
Once you label me, you negate me
Location means a lot to this line. In “Great Flood,” the shark was claiming Detroit, my city. In my earlier poem “Twin Cities,” I referred to the Guardian Building as a tower. So in my catalog, my tower would be the Guardian Building, a guardian tower. In the context of the poem title, this would allude to one of NYC’s Twin Towers brought down by the events of 9/11. That twin in the name kind of connects everything.
The shark’s guardian, this ever-standing and towering force in his life, his role model, has been eliminated. The shark has evidently taken emotional precautions to prevent loss from affecting him, superficially represented by taking a fire escape to leave a building.
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