Hallow 14 - Cultural Condition Lyrics

I'll start by addressing the elephant in the room
I am a criminal, a crook
I cannot be trusted, or so the rumor goes
I am here to say that I am sick and tired of all this
We live in a society that preys on the weakness of the heart and mind
One in which you would so readily hate someone
And the worst part is we've been conditioned into this, chained only by each other
But before I get into that, I want to start with the so-called root of all evil
It's an easy target
The hungry and the greedy sitting on their thrones while we gnaw at the scraps
It's time for change
And it starts with us, it starts with us

We can no longer afford to sit around and wait for others to take action
The power we've granted to wealth and status has grown too far
All it takes is the first step
Because in this world the most courageous act you can take
Is fighting the people who have the power to tell you

No
No we can't come at this from a point of rage
Demonizing each other and making enemies never leads to solutions without consequences
Nor without suffering
I know many of you harbor disdain for others
So much so you would go to extra lengths to prevent them from having their way
So then I ask, well

How far would you go to preserve your own way of life
To keep your homestead safe from the changes of the world around you
To what lengths would you interfere in the lives of others
Just so they cannot interfere with yours
Change isn't something to be feared
Change is what allowed your way of life to come to be
Things were never as they are now, and they never will be again
But fear of the unknown and the uncertain is strong, to be sure
A fear that what may come to be won't favor you as strongly as what already is
A fear deep-seated in the hearts and minds of every one of us
That's right
Fear

Fear is a weapon, the most powerful of all
And what makes it so menacing is that you don't even realize when it's being used against you
This makes it the perfect tool for creating a society of silent contempt
A tool abused by many modern leaders

A leader is someone who inspires those who have elected them
Those who have placed their trust, their lives
Their happiness and well-being in the hands of an individual
Above all else a leader stands for the morals and values of those they serve
This meaning has fallen to the wayside recently
A leader is no longer a servant of their people
A leader now stands above them
And revels in the chaos beneath their feet

But they aren't the only ones to blame, because we generate the chaos
Again, demonizing those who would weaponize fear is no path to a solution
The solution lies in accepting that you are to blame, as well
For rooting yourself in these opinions and beliefs, these

These convictions and the senseless stubbornness that falsely reinforces them
They have this awful tendency to draw lines between us and those we love
Just the other day, I attended my father's funeral
My father and I, we never really agreed on too much
He went one way and I went the other
It seemed like every conversation ended with another door slammed
I hadn't talked to him in years, but I wish he could see me now
I wish he could be standing among you listening to me talk about what kind of man he was
How he stood up for what he believed in, and so here I am
Following in his footsteps
Making a difference the only way I know how

Now don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to stand here and tell you all how to act or think
What I'm doing is trying to get you to think for yourselves, to open your minds to change
I will admit it can be terrifying, I know
And many times it is demanded of us well before we're ready

So often do we sacrifice our lives in the names of others
Forced to attempt a change we can't always accept
Every now and then we do have to change, though
We have to grow up and acknowledge the world around us
Though there's nothing wrong with shedding our colors
It's all a part of traveling the walk of life
And learning just who we are and how to love those we share this world with
It's true, really, we are imperfect creatures
So stand up
And grow

Grow beyond the person you are now, and change for better or worse
We are all humans and what makes us strong is not only our sense of community
But the individualism we've all been imbued with
A sense of purpose and identity, something which has in no other case been achieved

A unique gift, to be able to make our own decisions, forge our own paths, be different
Yet we spend so much time admiring the gifts of others that we forget our own
And many times gifts are demanded of us, ones which we don't have
Our society values certain gifts over others, but like everything else that can change
We can change
We are humans
We are adaptive
We are a world of unique entities mad at each other for our differences
Don't concern yourself with how someone differs from you
Be concerned with how you differ from them
And how together, you can form something much greater

No matter what path you walk in life
Always carry this one lesson with you
Be who you are
Nobody else will