Sunday, October 12, 2008

Civics Lessons: New Kicks



Le Tigre: New Kicks

[purchase]

Part of being a responsible citizen in a democratic nation is exercising your right to free speech and standing up for what you believe in, especially when you feel the government is taking actions that do not match it's citizens beliefs. These days it seems people are not quick to protest things that really deserve to be protested, things that should be enraging people. But the apathy and complacency of most citizens is overwhelming and so we wait and hope it resolves itself on its own most of the time.

Back in 2004, I made myself a politically motivated mix to get myself ramped up for election day. The lead track on that disc was Le Tigre's "New Kicks". Le Tigre is a dance-punk band fronted by Bikini Kill's Kathleen Hanna. "New Kicks" is a song that is comprised of protest chants and audio clips from protest speeches from some national protests against the war in Iraq. This song gives me chills and really gets me riled up.

This is what democracy sounds like.

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