Like we're gonna die young

If I die young bury me in satin,
Lay me down on a bed of roses, 
Sink me in the river at dawn
Send me away with the words of a love song. 
         ~ The Band Perry

It's not anything new. Musicians have been singing about dying young for decades. Billy Joel's "Only the Good Die Young," Johnny Cash's "I'd Rather Die Young," Beyonce's "Rather Die Young," The Band Perry quoted above, and now Ke$ha's new "Die Young" in which she tells the guy she meets in the bar to "make the most of the night like we're gonna die young." Confession: I love Ke$sha and I love that song. I know her lyrics are dirty and promote terrible values, but the songs are so catchy and I love how weird she is. But I can listen to her songs with her twisted values and not be affected by them in such a way that makes me think, "Yeah! That's the way!" I'm not going to "brush my teeth with a bottle of Jack" or meet the guy in the back by the jukebox to have sex with him. That lifestyle is just not me and frankly, though it may be fun occasionally to get a little wild and party with friends, to make a lifestyle out of it is just plain dangerous. However, this is the way I feel like a lot of young people are headed and popular music promotes and glorifies it.

I worry about this "die young" mentality that seems to exist most openly and obviously in the inner city among urban youth but is also a strong underlying theme in American society as a whole. Again, it is not anything new. In ancient times, dying young was often the glory of brave warriors. The violence of war represented courage, honor, and glory. I don't see much difference in our American mentality today. We praise our armed forces and young men for their courage to defend our country through violence and then we wonder why our young men are acting out the same thing on our streets at home. It is all about the glory and our culture esteems it, but we do not think about the consequences.

Some people could defend it by saying that it is the same idea as living like it's the last day of your life, but to me, there is a big difference between that and living like you're going to die young. Living like it's the last day of your life connotes that you are going to live fully present today and find meaning in your choices and relationships. "If it was your last day to live, how would you spend it?" Most people would say with loved ones or doing an activity they always wanted to do like skydiving. Living like you are going to die young has a connotation that you have no real future so why not just live for whatever makes you feel good right now. There is a big distinction and it is a dangerous one. Without hope for one's future, what do you really have except temporary pleasures?

I enjoy jamming out to Ke$ha's song, but the repercussions of our culture continuing to glorify the "die young" mentality are scary to think about and we are already paying the price.