| A Steady Diet of Nothing by Rob Janicke |
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Punk School
“No Bad Religion song will make your life complete” sings Greg Graffin, lead
singer of the legendary punk band of the same name on the track “No Direction”
off of the masterpiece “Generator”. Well, perhaps our life won’t be complete after
listening to one of their songs, but you can bet you’ll certainly be smarter. Just ask
Harvard University….yes, THAT Harvard University.
Every year, Harvard University holds an award ceremony acknowledging their
choice for Outstanding Lifetime Achievement Award in Cultural Humanism. This
year, the winner of that award was none other than Dr. Greg Graffin. Doctor?
Yes…this punk icon is not only the founder and leader of one of punk’s most
important bands; he’s also a Biology professor at UCLA where he teaches Life
Science courses covering Darwin and Natural Selection. Graffin obtained his
PhD in Zoology from Cornell and has balanced writing, touring and teaching for
many years now.
There is a twist to Graffin as well as to this award however. The award from
Harvard is given by the The Humanist Chaplaincy which intends to honor those
who are Atheists, Agnostics and Humanists who make positive, lasting
contributions to U.S. culture. Greg Graffin is an extremely outspoken Atheist who
challenges religious belief by holding intelligent conversations and debates
amongst those in the religious community. At this point many people tend to get
turned off or to view Graffin as a fool. If you are one of those people, shame on
you. One listen to Graffin’s lyrics or a quick read of any of his papers or interviews
will put to rest any doubt you may have about his intelligence and/or character.
The reason I’m taking this subject on is two-fold: I myself am Agnostic and
happen to agree with just about everything Graffin stands for; I would also like to
destroy any stereotype that people might place on musicians, specifically, punk
rock musicians. In Greg Graffin’s case, he has a lot to offer beyond the music
world most people associate him with. He is actually known and respected in
many religious circles because of the civil and intelligent way he goes about
speaking his mind. Music comes from many places with many beliefs attached to
them and this is one that doesn’t get much publicity.
It seems like tackling religious issues in this day and age is frowned upon. If
you don’t believe in God or religion you are somehow evil and can be a poison to
our children. That is not only ignorant, it’s dangerous. If we are not free to believe
what we want and speak our minds about those beliefs, we cease being a free
society. The music and lyrics behind many genres, not just punk rock, can be very
informative and quite groundbreaking. Music can have the courage to say what
some individuals or communities are not willing to. That is a good thing and
should be celebrated. Thank you Harvard University and Thank you Greg Graffin.
Let’s face it, we all have our beliefs and we usually feel pretty strongly about
them. I do and I know many of you reading this do as well. I’m not trying to sway
anyone here. I’m not trying to “convert” anyone either. It just makes me angry when
people write off those of us who aren’t religious and think we have nothing to add
to society. Ok, so I guess I don’t really have much to add, but I’ll be damned if
Greg Graffin doesn’t. This is all about looking at things that may scare us or that
we don’t agree with and keeping an open mind and open eye on. That’s all.
This month I will not have the final word…I’ll let Greg do that for me.
COME JOIN US
So you say you gotta know why the world goes ‘round
And you can’t find the truth in the things you’ve found
And you’re scared shitless cuz evil abounds
Come join us
Well I heard you were lookin for a place to fit in
Full of adherent people with the same objective
A family to cling to and call brethren
Come join us
All we want to do is change your mind
All you need to do is close your eyes
So come join us
Come join us
Come join us
Don’t you see all the trouble that most people are in
And that they just want you for their own advantage
But I swear to you that we’re different from all of them
Come join us
I can tell you are lookin for a way to live
Where truth is determined by consensus
Full of codified arbitrary directives
Come join us
All we want to have is your small mind
Turn it into one of our own kind
You can go through life adrift and alone
Desperate, desolate, on your own
But we’re lookin for a few more stalwart clones
So come join us
Come join us
Come join us
We’ve got spite and dedication as a vehement brew
The world hates us, well we hate them too
But you’re exempted of course if you
Come join us
Independent, self-contented, revolutionary
Intellectual, brave, strong, and scholarly
If you’re not one of them, you’re us already so
Come join us
“No Bad Religion song will make your life complete” sings Greg Graffin, lead
singer of the legendary punk band of the same name on the track “No Direction”
off of the masterpiece “Generator”. Well, perhaps our life won’t be complete after
listening to one of their songs, but you can bet you’ll certainly be smarter. Just ask
Harvard University….yes, THAT Harvard University.
Every year, Harvard University holds an award ceremony acknowledging their
choice for Outstanding Lifetime Achievement Award in Cultural Humanism. This
year, the winner of that award was none other than Dr. Greg Graffin. Doctor?
Yes…this punk icon is not only the founder and leader of one of punk’s most
important bands; he’s also a Biology professor at UCLA where he teaches Life
Science courses covering Darwin and Natural Selection. Graffin obtained his
PhD in Zoology from Cornell and has balanced writing, touring and teaching for
many years now.
There is a twist to Graffin as well as to this award however. The award from
Harvard is given by the The Humanist Chaplaincy which intends to honor those
who are Atheists, Agnostics and Humanists who make positive, lasting
contributions to U.S. culture. Greg Graffin is an extremely outspoken Atheist who
challenges religious belief by holding intelligent conversations and debates
amongst those in the religious community. At this point many people tend to get
turned off or to view Graffin as a fool. If you are one of those people, shame on
you. One listen to Graffin’s lyrics or a quick read of any of his papers or interviews
will put to rest any doubt you may have about his intelligence and/or character.
The reason I’m taking this subject on is two-fold: I myself am Agnostic and
happen to agree with just about everything Graffin stands for; I would also like to
destroy any stereotype that people might place on musicians, specifically, punk
rock musicians. In Greg Graffin’s case, he has a lot to offer beyond the music
world most people associate him with. He is actually known and respected in
many religious circles because of the civil and intelligent way he goes about
speaking his mind. Music comes from many places with many beliefs attached to
them and this is one that doesn’t get much publicity.
It seems like tackling religious issues in this day and age is frowned upon. If
you don’t believe in God or religion you are somehow evil and can be a poison to
our children. That is not only ignorant, it’s dangerous. If we are not free to believe
what we want and speak our minds about those beliefs, we cease being a free
society. The music and lyrics behind many genres, not just punk rock, can be very
informative and quite groundbreaking. Music can have the courage to say what
some individuals or communities are not willing to. That is a good thing and
should be celebrated. Thank you Harvard University and Thank you Greg Graffin.
Let’s face it, we all have our beliefs and we usually feel pretty strongly about
them. I do and I know many of you reading this do as well. I’m not trying to sway
anyone here. I’m not trying to “convert” anyone either. It just makes me angry when
people write off those of us who aren’t religious and think we have nothing to add
to society. Ok, so I guess I don’t really have much to add, but I’ll be damned if
Greg Graffin doesn’t. This is all about looking at things that may scare us or that
we don’t agree with and keeping an open mind and open eye on. That’s all.
This month I will not have the final word…I’ll let Greg do that for me.
COME JOIN US
So you say you gotta know why the world goes ‘round
And you can’t find the truth in the things you’ve found
And you’re scared shitless cuz evil abounds
Come join us
Well I heard you were lookin for a place to fit in
Full of adherent people with the same objective
A family to cling to and call brethren
Come join us
All we want to do is change your mind
All you need to do is close your eyes
So come join us
Come join us
Come join us
Don’t you see all the trouble that most people are in
And that they just want you for their own advantage
But I swear to you that we’re different from all of them
Come join us
I can tell you are lookin for a way to live
Where truth is determined by consensus
Full of codified arbitrary directives
Come join us
All we want to have is your small mind
Turn it into one of our own kind
You can go through life adrift and alone
Desperate, desolate, on your own
But we’re lookin for a few more stalwart clones
So come join us
Come join us
Come join us
We’ve got spite and dedication as a vehement brew
The world hates us, well we hate them too
But you’re exempted of course if you
Come join us
Independent, self-contented, revolutionary
Intellectual, brave, strong, and scholarly
If you’re not one of them, you’re us already so
Come join us
About the Author:
Rob Janicke is a free lance writer from Brooklyn, New York. He
currently lives on the East end of Long Island. He encourages
feedback of all kinds regarding his writing and can be reached at
inhiding23@gmail.com , either way he'd love to hear from you.
Rob Janicke is a free lance writer from Brooklyn, New York. He
currently lives on the East end of Long Island. He encourages
feedback of all kinds regarding his writing and can be reached at
inhiding23@gmail.com , either way he'd love to hear from you.