iMedia: Rise Against- Prayer of the Refugee

Rise Against- Prayer of the Refugee
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pOtNqDyyX2c


When I first listened to this song, I didn't really pay much attention to the lyrics. I'll admit that what first caught my eye was the heavy, deep rhythm of the guitar and the lead singer's deep voice. Of course I could only listen to it so many times before I actually listened to what they were trying to say, before I actually figured out that this song was intended for more than it's fantastic pulse. The lyrics of this song startled me more than any other song that I had heard at the time and caught my attention because of one simple reason; the fact that I could actually relate to it (although not the extent that the lyrics portray). The lyrics are so truthful and perfect in the essence that it captures the true emotions of a refugee. When I first read these lyrics I noticed something very important about not only myself, but probably most of the other Americans. I noticed that ever since this immigration crisis in the US, most people have viewed these immigrants to be criminals and black hearted people, but what was really interesting about this song was that it gave us a perspective on the immigrant's themselves. This song showed us not only the truth about our culture and how one sided we are (in thinking), but it showed us the truth about these people that we look down upon. It showed us how they are human beings just like us and how just because they are seeking the same opportunities and we all have here in the US, they have to live their lives in constant fear and agony because of us.
They are not the bad guys, we are. We are the people who don't take the time to consider both sides of this issue. We are the hypocrites who live in the land that we call "the land of the free" in which the rights to freedom of speech is reserved for EVERYONE, or so we say, but in reality we don't allow these freedoms to anyone but ourselves. This video clearly shows how hypocritical we are as a country and most definitely reflects how bias we are. We use other people around the world and manipulate them into thinking that they are doing something good. That their work will some day be paid off, but in reality we just take credit for their work. Let's face it, the majority of us don't necessarily know what it is like to be in poverty and have these hopes and dreams of being a refugee in a country that offers an escape from this misery. This obviously affects our culture in a terrible way, but there is no way around it because this is the truth about us. We are not the "land of the free" and we do not accept everyone for who they are, but most importantly we do not offer the same opportunities for all because we discriminate on all different levels simply because we fails to think about issues from different perspectives.
I have to say that I am stereotyping a bit when I say this because I know for a fact that not everyone is like this, but if we all neglect the fact that we have done wrong and we have been hypocrites, this is ultimately what our culture will turn out to be (not that it already isn't). I understand that this is only one video and it might seem crazy to draw such drastic conclusions but this is more than an ordinary music video. This music video not only takes a risk in portraying the negative sides of America, but it shows the emotions and truths about the people that seek refugee in our country, which is more than i can say for most of the other music video's I've seen.