Andrew Fletcher has a great quote in which he states, “I knew a very wise man . . . that . . . believed if a man were permitted to make all the ballads he need not care who should make the laws of a nation, and we find that most of the ancient legislators thought that they could not well reform the manners of any city without the help of a lyric, and sometimes of a dramatic poet.”

It implies that even though laws are created, it does not mean they are followed. The laws that are followed by the people are those that they agree with. Our Nation is in a cultural crisis similar to none before, and I believe that people have a misconception of what will fix our nation. This includes ethical laws. Music, art, and movies play a much more influential role on what ethics are followed. The argument can be made that these just reflect the culture at hand, but I beg to differ. Kids want to grow up to be these famous people. They wish to imitate them and follow their code of ethics. Rap is by far the best example of this as it is a culture in and of itself and has drastically shaped our nation in the last 20 years. Politicians may write the laws, but not even they follow some of them. Cultural influences may have unwritten laws, but those are followed more zealously, including the punishments for breaking these “cultural laws.” Cultural laws are laws that are not mentioned in writing but are enacted through society and societies standards. To address the problems we face today we must first look at some issues within society.

Respecting women: This is a huge issue we face as a society — the fact that women believe that they need to carry a taser or mace is a problem. They should not live in fear of being physically assaulted. Even worse is the constant language abuse they suffer, I can only imagine how much mental discipline women must have to not show a reaction to such insults and derogatory terms. Now it is interesting that most of the popular music today has become more and more degrading toward women. Let us take a look at some of Childish Gambino’s lyrics from just one of his songs (notice there is extremely strong language in this and I will censor part of it.) Here is some of his lyrics from “Lust for Life”:

“Don't f**k with me 'less you want your swag pregnant

A n***a bad grammar, I run on sentence

I am just a rapper so I don't need practice

I am just different, I eat/sleep genius

Forever I Love Atlanta, I stunt these FILAS

Swag celibate, I don't f**k with these bitches

Smoke these n****z, turn 'em all Swishers

Can't make up my mind I gotta f**k both sisters

and my flow is r******d, I spit autism

Got that s**t to make ya bounce like Tigger

Cause I am more childish than 'good job' stickers

Your girl's in the room so I don't have any jeans on “

That is just one guy though… well let us take a look at someone who’s gaining popularity then and who is also in the top 100 Hip-hop/Rap on iTunes. Lil Yachty and his song “One Night”:

“I know you want this for life

F**k you so good you be calling out the Christ

Bottles of the Tech got it laid on ice

We spent four seasons at the Four Seasons twice

You be calling all your homegirls like ‘I'm his wife’

Hell nah, you trippin', reevaluate your life

I can't love no b***h, every single ho is trife”

Music today is ripe with such lyrics and such songs and musicians are in the top 100 of today’s music. If we wish to further women’s equality, we must first address this cultural norm. These men degrade women making them out to be only after their money or fame as well as that they need them (the rappers). This is entirely false and is a cultural stigma put on women that is something that is being fought by many people. But sadly many young men look up to these two guys as well as many others who degrade women just as much. These men do not abide by the political laws but by their own cultural laws that they promote through their music. Things like degrading women, doing drugs, getting drunk, breaking the law, fighting, etc. are all encouraged by such men in an effort to live a life free from restrictions.

Now, we just elected a man who is quoted as saying “… grab her by her p***y” and apparently it has become a heated topic where the quote is on t-shirts, hats, memes, etc. as well as many calling him unqualified to be president due to comments like the one mentioned. Does this mean there is a double standard present within our culture? We care what our president says more than those that have an actual influence on how our kids grow up and behave? I do not agree with the comments made by president-elect Trump, but the double standard presented is all too real.

We should be more worried about what lyrics we listen to as those are what will actually influence us. As Chuck Palahniuk (the author of Fight Club) once said “The first step — especially for young people with energy and drive and talent, but not money — the first step to controlling your world is to control your culture. To model and demonstrate the kind of world you demand to live in. To write the books. Make the music. Shoot the films. Paint the art.” (Bold is my own emphasis.) It’s a cycle; they imitate who they admire and then become those who are admired.

Bono is quoted as saying “Music can change the world because it can change people.” I believe that. As I quoted Andrew Fletcher much earlier on in this article music, or even the arts have a stronger influence than politics. Should we be careful with what we have seen from Trump supporters and what he has said? Absolutely! But we cannot just address that. If we just address the effects and not the cause then we are only applying a band-aid to a large gash. What is the root problem within these lyrics and the putting down of women?

Hyper-masculinity and hyper-sexualization are the main causes. These lyrics reinforce such actions and word choices. Those within their teens are increasingly looking for role models that are not found within their homes (be it from absent fathers, or parents that don’t care, or just a lack of respect shown to parents). These teenagers or even young adults look to those that are rich and famous because they want to be rich and famous as well. They want that attention, that “god-like” status among their fans and they see that these lyrics and actions get such attention. They see this as right and not wrong. It is becoming increasingly present within white teenage males who wish to associate with the growing culture that seems to be the dominate culture within that age group and normally they don’t grow out of such attitudes(notice how many of your white male friends quote Trump on “grab the *****”). How do we fix this? How do we teach these kids as well as our own generation what is wrong with such actions and words?

Such words and actions should not be encouraged as it leads to such actions as where we have an increased reality of rape culture on college campuses, sexual assault, the devaluation of women, as well as relationships that are shallow and short lived instead of long lasting investments in one another. Regardless of your views, culture itself dictates where the country will go, not the policies of a president. The president cannot control culture, but he can be influenced by it. If we want a respectful president it must come from first changing our culture and it’s attitude. The culture needs to change within this country, and this is only one aspect of it. Culture includes religious views (not just Christianity, but all of them), music, art, theatre, customs, economy, and society. All these things need to be improved if we wish to see ourselves become a world influencer again.