For Love or Money

 It is a fact that music has an impact on people. The sound of music can initiate a flow state and later cause mental and physical changes. There are numerous ways music can be created.  Instruments are not necessarily required to make music, rather music can be formed by singing and creative body movement. Music, both simple and complex forms, reveals many attributes of a person’s identity. The type of music an individual listens to allows others to grasp a sense of what kind of individual he is and how music is significant to him. The genre and language of the music depict the individual’s background. Music is a way of magnifying a person’s life because it portrays so many personal traits, experiences, and the lifestyle one may live.  Music is often a tool that enhances relationships among individuals and countries. 

 Music reflects the true values of societies. High fidelity is the most popular type of music in America. In this field, music is made to become a selling product and be widely distributed. This shows that America favors a capitalist society because money is the ultimate outcome. Many countries are studied because of their cultural, participatory musical aspects. For instance, Zimbabwe is known for its Mbira ceremonies because the music creates a spiritual connection that enables the people to talk to their ancestors. These countries value traditions that are least competitive, least hierarchical, and most democratic along with everyone participating to socially bond and form communitas. On the other hand, countries dominated by presentational music can use music as an escape route. Brazil and Indonesia use punk music as a way of coping with capitalism and the hardship of their economic status. The music that one society listens to can gain the interest of other societies. Music can cause societies to become more open and tolerant to others. It is capable of changing the way societies think within their providence and among the world. Throughout this change, communities locally and nationally come together, socially bond, adapt to new cultures, and create new music.

   A global citizen is one who is aware and accepts responsibility for how his actions and consequences affect others locally and nationally. He is attentive to worldwide problems and wants to help create solutions by taking a confrontational approach with a DIY attitude. The term global citizen can be broken down into two meanings. As a citizen, he is involved in various communities and wants to help make the world a better place to live in.  Secondly, he wants to benefit the lives of those who live elsewhere on the globe, not just his country. The truth is, I am a global citizen; we are all global citizens. It is the simple gestures we unknowingly do that make us global citizens. We all buy goods that are not from America and in doing so we provide an economic benefit to other countries. Economic benefits include employment and stability. Another example of being a global citizen is shopping at the Bloomington farmers’ market instead of Kroger or Walmart. We are respectfully and consciously deciding to purchase goods, knowing the money will directly reside with the owner and go toward his personal business or to the city. Shopping at a corporate building will distribute the money to many places instead of staying local. In addition, the farmers’ market produce that is grown locally prevents the process of another country shipping the food to us. This increases the quality of the food and saves money and time. 

  

  A great deal of responsibility is taken into the hands of a global citizen. The world needs more global citizens. With more global citizens, a greater impact can be made on society worldwide. However, doing the littlest thing is better than nothing. A global citizen has to do research or at least find a way to be notified of the greatest mishappenings or tragedies that occur worldwide. It is not a burden to have responsibility; it should be motivational to help the unfortunate. As a global citizen, we need to think carefully about how and whom we want to help.  Over time, as we see those who we helped evolve, we will feel a sense of gratitude and accomplishment. The number of global citizens is on the rise and will continue to have a positive impact on the world that we all live in. As global citizens, we are slowly learning from each other’s actions and getting more connected as we become a more powerful force upon society.