Politics and music in culture.

Music is a common threshold for every living person. A well-written melody is enjoyed by everyone, and the hard contrast of dissonant chords of a background movie soundtrack can strike fear and inspire emotion into anyone watching that dark themed movie. We speak all differently, with many different tongues to compliment many different societies. Societies in the past have had music, and we do not fail to be different from them. Music will always speak a tone everyone can understand, and can leave an impression on any person regardless of who they are, where they came from, or what they have done.

At a school such as ASA, the musical arts are a large part of the even bigger arts department. It has played an infinitely large role in my life, from the enjoyment of listening to the music to actually playing it. Music has brought everybody at ASA together under the common enjoyment of the musical and performing arts, which not only gives everybody a unique kind of bond, but also changes the culture of the school drastically. I never expected ASA to be so inviting when I first arrived, with the cheers and crowds of frantic people trying to find that person they never actually got to talk to over summer, and the ones who wanted to discuss how summer just never lasts long enough, the aura surrounding every individual there was that of kinship, care, and real enjoyment. What I personally believe is that music, and the enjoyment of it, brings everybody together. In the school culture as a whole, I think the music is also what keeps ASA from becoming a normal public school. The people are so different, and the love for everything creative is always present. Because of music, my life has changed so much. Because of the arts, every time I walk down the hall, I walk in rhythm to whatever song is in my head. Usually, when I’m alone, I don’t even need to think, it is almost like the songs and tunes playing repeatedly in my head sort out all of my thoughts, and help me concentrate.

With the introduction of music into my life, I can truly say that I became alive because of it. Everything seems to have more depth and more meaning ever since I really discovered my love for music, with all of the strange and intriguing qualities it can possess.

Putting music aside, another thing that has enhanced my life and culture itself is literature, though what I believe of as literature encompasses more than what another might think of as literature. I, by nature, am not the kind to voice my opinion. I prefer absorbing the opinions of those on both sides of the argument, and then making an open decision of what I believe, which would always be subject to change, because literature can always present an idea not previously thought and sway my opinion. That being said, I personally believe of literature as anything that either tells a story or shows an opinion that someone has on a matter. I have been taking in information on political matters since I was young, and I have formed my opinion not only off of what I have heard my whole life, but also many internet-based blog sites, friends discussing things, my personal ideas, and by people who post their ideas on the internet for the world to see.

Politics affect everybody’s life, not only because they determine our leaders and the laws we create, but also how we view many modern issues, and I believe that the political views of a nation dictate greatly how the people in the country live.

-Danny F.