We are living in a time with no heroes. We really aren't. Go grab the last magazine you've bought and tell me who is on the cover. You'd be lucky if it was someone that has actually made, or is making a difference in our society. Rather, it is people that make news with their shocking outfits, playboy behaviour, or because they come from famous parents. What happened to the Bob Dylans, the Rubin Carters, the Muhammed Ali's of the years gone by? Oh *they* are around, sure, and I suppose that they've paid their dues with the songs they've sung, and the protests they have caused. And I suppose they weren't really trying to bring about a new era, they were just doing what they thought was right. But at least they were recognized for their acheivements. But in my generation, everywhere I look all I seem to find are models, actors, one-hit-wonders, and aging icons milking their celebrity for all it's worth. I know that there are heroes around us everyday in fire-fighters, teachers, our parents, but it was probably a huge emotional release to know back then that people our age had peers that were in the public eye, telling the government that they were wrong, protesting wars, and rallying the public to fight for the civil rights of those that had been wronged.

Look at our advertisements today, do they speak to you? Do they spoof the stereotypes of society? Do they send ironic messages about our conservative lifestyles and how silly they are, without the need of a half-naked guy or girl with a pouty come-hither face? Do they even have relevant messages?

Maybe we're a desensitized culture. Maybe we've seen and done too much to ourselves that we no longer want to see the irony in our lives, if that's the case, what's the point of our existance if we're at a societal standstill? Nothing more can shock us, nothing can suprise us. We've analyzed ourselves into submission and now our own neuroses and wanton desires are piling up against a brick wall and getting bigger because we no longer have an outlet. Sometimes I'll hear songs that have ironic messages about our life and our culture, but I'm always left wondering if maybe the songwriter did it to be "cool", or if they really believed in what they wrote about. It's hard to be certain, because these days there are no constants, just blips in time that are forgotten. Twenty years from now I won't remember how I feel tonight while writing this. Twenty years from now, my only recollection of society will be a series of kitzchy tv shows, some pop songs, and a movie about a girl and guy who fall in love when thrown into a tangled emotional rollercoaster. We need more heroes, we need more people to stand up and say "We are better than this, we deserve better than this and we want it now." We need a change.

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then / after