{"id":47,"date":"2016-03-15T08:35:35","date_gmt":"2016-03-15T14:35:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/markmeckler\/?p=47"},"modified":"2016-03-15T08:35:35","modified_gmt":"2016-03-15T14:35:35","slug":"how-a-twenty-one-pilots-song-perfectly-expresses-how-most-americans-feel-about-their-government","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markmeckler\/2016\/03\/how-a-twenty-one-pilots-song-perfectly-expresses-how-most-americans-feel-about-their-government\/","title":{"rendered":"How a TWENTY \u00d8NE PIL\u00d8TS song perfectly expresses how most Americans feel about their government"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\"ScreenTWENTY \u00d8NE PIL\u00d8TS\u2019<\/b>\u00a0second signed album, Blurryface<\/a><\/i>, has a great song on it that\u2019s playing on iPhones across America. \u00a0The song is catchy and seems upbeat, until you pay attention to the heart wrenching lyrics. His life\u00a0has been crushed by a woman, seemingly the topic of\u00a090% of songs ever sung. \u00a0Except there\u2019s this jewel in the middle.<\/p>\n

The singer\u00a0cares about this\u00a0woman so much \u2013 who apparently tore a hole in his heart \u2014 \u00a0that he resents the small things in life that cause her discomfort. Tyler Joseph sings:<\/p>\n

You fell asleep in my \/ Car. I drove the whole time \/ But that\u2019s okay \/ I\u2019ll just avoid the holes so you sleep fine \/ I\u2019m driving here. I sit \/ Cursing my government \/ For not using my taxes \/ To fill holes with more cement.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

At the risk of reading too much into a pop song, I like\u00a0this because\u00a0TWENTY \u00d8NE PIL\u00d8TS inadvertently express the simplicity of what Americans want from their governments \u2014 we\u00a0want problems solved that we can\u2019t do ourselves.<\/p>\n

As much as we love self-governance, you don\u2019t want individuals out there fixing the roads. \u00a0Our taxes pay for the government to keep the roads up and do the things we can\u2019t do. \u00a0And that\u2019s pretty much it. \u00a0The government (especially the federal government) has so encroached into every area of life, it\u2019s hard to remember a time when they weren\u2019t involved in the conversations we had about healthcare, education, and even marriage.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s why I love this song.<\/p>\n

Americans want the government to protect\u00a0life, liberty and property.<\/p>\n

Wouldn\u2019t it be nice if they would focus on the small, every day details of governance, and\u00a0\u2014 once all the potholes are filled \u2014 leave us alone?<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s this great song\u2026 \u00a0let it become your anthem if you are a heartbroken fan of self-governance. \u00a0(And isn\u2019t that all of us during this modern political climate?)<\/p>\n